


I'll Love You When Someone Else Does

by Reltic



Series: Of Decaf Coffee and Spilt Milk [2]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Developing Relationship, Established Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Established Lee Felix/Seo Changbin, First Chapter is Jisung's Perspective, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Han Jisung | Han-centric, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Minho and Chan Are Figuring Things Out, Polyamory Negotiations, Second Chapter is Chan's, jisung is confused
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:28:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 21,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27140413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reltic/pseuds/Reltic
Summary: “Have you ever heard of polyamory?”---Or: Jisung has had a year long crush on Minho, but then Bang Chan arrives and threatens everything he's ever known.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Han Jisung | Han, Bang Chan/Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Series: Of Decaf Coffee and Spilt Milk [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938283
Comments: 28
Kudos: 299





	1. Pullyarmy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically this story is in the same universe as my Changlix story, but if you don’t want to read that one first here's a few minor details you’ll need to know in order for this one to make sense.
> 
> \- Minho is a café owner and Changbin, Hyunjin, and Jisung work there.  
> \- This takes place a year after “I’ll Love You When No One Else Will”. The last story was about Changbin developing a crush on Felix who was already dating a guy named Jae but that guy was also cheating on him without him knowing. Felix’s friends (Chan, Seungmin, and Jeongin) band together with Changbin’s friends (Minho, Hyunjin, and Jisung) to save Felix and at the end Changlix happens.  
> \- Changbin pined over Felix for three months all while Hyunjin, Minho, and Jisung tried to get him to swoop in and date Felix. They encouraged him in either terribly stupid or surprisingly smart ways.  
> \- Chan gave a few hints that he may like Minho as more than a friend in the last story.  
> \- Hyunjin and Seungmin were somewhat dating in the the Changlix one, but it turns out they were actually hooking up for about a month before they starting dating. There’s an on going joke in the story about how Hyunjin had a picture of them making out as his profile picture on twitter and the rest of them make fun of them for it.  
> \- Minho lives alone with his three cats. Jeongin lives with Felix, and Changbin lives with Jisung.  
> \- Hongjoong is Minho's assistant Manager but he's just a minor character that only gets mentioned
> 
> If you want to read the other story first, it's located in the same series as this one. Otherwise, enjoy!

Jisung was a simple person. 

He was the kind of guy that would be entertained by a flickering candle for hours on end so long as the wick didn't go out. He was the kind of guy that was content to sit on the couch next to you and feel his social meter refill just from your presence, forget the whole ‘conversation’ crap. He was the kind of guy to say ‘Yeah, let’s just eat a whole cheesecake for dinner. I don’t feel like cooking’ as he handed you the tv remote.

He wasn’t the kind of guy to cause confrontation. He wasn’t the kind of guy to fight for what he wanted even if the thing he’s been secretly aweing at for a year was just a pluck away from being stolen from him. He wasn’t the kind of guy to sacrifice someone else's happiness for his own, even if it would figuratively rip his heart open for the vultures of emotion to feast on.

And for that, Hyunjin called him a spineless idiot. Sure, Jisung fought that accusation with all of his willpower, but eventually he gave up trying to prove his coworker wrong. Because really, Jisung had been crushing on Minho for over a year and now that Chan had shown up their entire relationship was being threatened.

Minho, his long time friend and employer, was the most interesting man Jisung had ever met. Objectively, they shouldn’t work. Minho was smart, handsome, sexy as all hell, and the definition of extroversion. Jisung was a lowly barista struggling to figure out what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He wasn’t any more handsome than a muddy pair of shoes, his sex appeal was nonexistent, and he was the most introverted guy one could become acquainted with. The fact he even had friends to call his own was a miracle.

What would a guy like Minho ever see in him?

Apparently, all he saw was friendship, because that’s all that had ever been crafted between the two of them. Minho invited him over with Hyunjin and Changbin, he joked with him on shift, and occasionally they sent memes to each other. But that was all it was between them, friends. Minho never showed any interest beyond that boundary, and Jisung was far too terrified to try and expand their friendship into something a bit more, regardless of Hyunjin’s insistence. 

Even if Minho was his gay awakening. Even if Minho was the only person, let alone man, to take a permanent residency in his heart. Even if it hurt so bad to keep him at arms lengths because he’d never be good enough. Even when he could see the knowing looks from his other friends that had slowly realized and eventually squeezed the information out of him.

Jisung was content to enjoy whatever he could take, even if that was just being able to see him when he worked or sit next to him when they played a board game.

But then Changbin and Felix started dating, and with that came the addition of Felix’s friends Seungmin, Jeongin, and Chan.

They were all extremely nice people. Seungmin and Hyunjin were a power couple, and by that he meant a destructive and chaotic power couple. They got up to all sorts of shenanigans and often roped the rest of them into whatever they were doing. They had produced too many black out drunk nights following a painfully long hangover. Jeongin was originally the cutest addition, but eventually everyone began to see that he wasn’t just an innocent baby but a demon in disguise. He was Satan’s Little Helper, and Minho really didn’t need anymore help.

But Chan was the biggest inclusion, and also the biggest obstacle. He was kind, funny, smart, and too hot for their friend group. He was equipped with rock hard abs, a taste for good music, and perfect skin. He was the perfect guy and Jisung had to wonder how the hell the guy wasn’t in a relationship yet. Or, he did wonder that, until he realized Chan was _trying_ to get into a relationship.

It’s just that the relationship is with Minho.

Now, Jisung may be being dramatic. Seungmin and Hyunjin aren’t that bad and Jeongin isn’t actually the devil's secret love child nor is he Minho’s right hand man. But Chan, he was too good, too perfect. He was everything Minho deserved and everything Jisung wasn’t. He wouldn’t interfere if Chan wanted to seek out the café owner.

But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t sulk over it.

“Hey loverboy, you done with your inner monologue?”

“Fuck you, Hyunjin,” Jisung mumbled as he wiped the counter a little more aggressively, “I wasn’t monologuing.”

“Yeah, and I’m not gay,” Hyunjin teased, leaning far enough into Jisung personal space that the younger boy could smell Hyunjin’s earlier espresso tinting his breath, “And I’m extre-”

“And you’re extremely gay,” Jisung groaned as he pushed the boy back away from the espresso bar, “I know, we all know, literally the whole world knows because your profile picture is still you making out with Seungmin.”

“But it’s a different picture of me making out with Seungmin,” Hyunjin pointed out and he straightened his apron, “I need to keep things unpredictable or else Minnie will get bored.”

“Dear god,” Jisung closed his eyes as he tilted his head to the ceiling, clasping his hands together as he shook them against this chest, “Please, _please_ make Seungmin say the safe word. I can’t take it anymore.”

“I thought Channie-Hyung said to keep your sex life out of our lives,” Changbin came around from the back room carrying three bags of coffee beans. As he placed them on the counter next to Jisung, he turned to face Hyunjin with an unamused stare, “And for what reason do you have to publicly post your make out sessions. How the hell does that spice up your sex life?”

“It’s way more fun than you think it is,” Hyunjin pouted as Changbin turned away to look for a pair of scissors, “Ever heard of exhibition?”

“No, and I don’t think I ever want to,” Changbin replied as he pulled the scissors from under the register and returned to cut open the bags.

“Man, I was sure Felix would be into some kinky shit,” Hyunjin muttered, pretending to not notice Changbin sputtering in embarrassment as he accidentally shredded open the top of the bag causing coffee beans to scatter all over the counter and floor, “You should talk to him about it Binnie-Hyung. After a year of dating you’d think you guys would have done _something_.”

“We’ve done something!” Changbin shot back with a glare but the intensity was cut in half by the scarlet blush tracking all the way up to his ears, “Just… We only do simple things…”

“That’s so boring!” Hyunjin skipped over to the back room and quickly grabbed a broom to hand to Changbin, “You should experiment. Try out something new and tell me how it feels. Once you experience the thrill you can come and apologize to me.”

“I’m not telling you shit,” Changbin refused to make eye contact as he swept up the stray beans, “My sex life is none of your business, and neither is yours any of mine. But I hope and pray that you’re safe in your exhi-whatever.”

“Yeah we’re safe, we have rules for a reason,” Hyunjin waved him off before turning to Jisung with a look that made him far more nervous than it should have, “And as for you. Please, get into Minho-Hyung’s pants already.”

“Why,” Changbin sighed, dropping his chin to his chest in defeat, “Why is every other word that comes out of your mouth about sex. Can we have a normal conversation for once?”

“Fine,” Hyunjin straightened his posture with his hand on his hips as he stared into Jisung’s eyes. It pinned him to the spot, and he suddenly became terrified of whatever was about to come out of his friend's mouth, “I’ll promise you one normal conversation if Jisung gets his shit together and asks out Minho-Hyung.”

“Would you shut up?!” Jisung hissed under his breath, shooting Hyunjin a glare as the older snickered at his annoyance, “What if he hears you?!”

Jisung peaked a glance at the employee door leading to the back room which was currently holding both Minho and Hongjoong, the assistant manager. While Minho may not have the bat ears necessary to eavesdrop on their conversation, Jisung could never be too sure about whether Hongjoong has superhuman hearing and was relaying all of their conversation to the boy. It may be a stretch, but Jisung had one too many nightmares about his long time crush coming to the surface and wasn’t willing to take any chances.

“He won’t. He’s too busy facetiming his cats for Hongjoong-ssi to look at,” Hyunjin rolled his eyes as Changbin struggled to sweep up the coffee beans that insisted on rolling the exact opposite of where he was trying to sweep them, “Do you need help with that?”

“No!” Changbin pulled the broom stick against his chest, wrapping his arms protectively around the wooden stick with pinched eyebrows, “Leave me alone in my misery. Go bother Jisung again or something.”

“Please don’t. Let me suffer in peace and harmony,” Jisung turned away from his two coworkers and diligently continued to wipe every drop of milk and vanilla syrup off of the espresso machine. It was times like this he really wished the café would be busy at noon so that the rush of customers would distract him from Hyunjin’s meddling, but alas the lobby was empty. Maybe if he just ignored Hyunjin and started cleaning off the syrup bottles again-

“How is suffering peaceful or harmonic,” Hyunjin dropped his chin on Jisung’s shoulder and turned his face to speak directly into his ear, causing the younger to cringe at the volume and flinch away, “Why do I work with the two biggest wimps in history? At least it only took Changbin three months to finally ask out Felix, but you’ve been pining for a year now dude.”

“It’s a lifestyle choice,” Jisung muttered as he pointedly ignored the frowns from both of his friends.

“It’s a lifestyle choice to let your feelings go unresolved?” Hyunjin raised an eyebrow at his friend who shook the older off his shoulder with a groan.

“You know, I think I heard an insult like two sentences ago and I’ve just decided that I’m offended,” Changbin grumbled as he gave an aggressive sweep that caused a handful of the coffee beans to slide directly into the drains under the bar, “Fuck! Why me?!”

“Because you’re an idiot that let Felix suffer for 9 months with Cheating Asshole Boyfriend instead of getting your mans,” The boisterous barista blew Changbin a kiss at the glare that was directed back at him, but then quickly rounded back around to Jisung with a pointed finger landing right on his chest, “And _you_ will be the next one to have gross-milky-syrup-drain-fingers if you don’t confess to Minho-Hyung! The coffee gods will scorn you with their wrath and doom you to paying your dues by scooping coffee beans out of hell!”

“Did you just compare scooping shit out of the drains to actual hell?” Jisung chuckled as he let his gaze land on Changbin who had crouched down to the floor and begun picking out the large beans and various other food and plastic that wound up under the counters with cupped fingers. At first, he had found the comparison funny, but as he watched his friend and coworker pull out a few soggy sliced strawberries that had lost their red color and were instead pale and white, he felt the disgust rise again, “You know what, I think you might be onto something.”

“Good!” Hyunjin threw an arm around Jisung’s shoulders, pulling his friend's body closer as they watched Changbin cringe over the gooey mush that coated his fingers, “Now go tell Minho you want his dick before someone else does.”

As if it was that easy. Jisung would have told Minho how he really felt a year ago if he magically had the confidence Hyunjin did. He couldn’t just take a snapshot of his tongue down Minho’s throat, post it to twitter, and expect Minho to one day say “Hey, maybe I wanna actually date you for real” like Hyunjim managed to do with Seungmin. His life wasn’t like a fanfiction, wasn’t a romcom movie that someone works out in his favor. And he sure as hell wasn’t a certain Bang Chan.

“You know, Jinnie might be right,” Changbin grunted as he tried to push himself off the floor without getting his disgusted drain infested hands on his jeans, “It’s been a year Sungie. If you keep waiting someone else will snatch him up.”

“That’s rich coming for you Mr. I-Don’t-Wanna-Interfere-With-Felix’s-Relationship-Even-Though-His-Boyfriend’s-An-Ass,” Jisung scoffed at his friend, “I don’t wanna hear a word from you!”

“I’m just saying,” Changbin shrugged, “What was it that Minho said to me? Stop the Competition?”

“He said,” Hyunjin cleared his throat before attempting to mimic Minho as closely as possible, “ _If you don’t stop the competition before they stop you, you’re doomed_.”

“Yeah that’s it,” Changbin pointed his still disgusting fingers at Hyunjin before tilting his head at Jisung, “Whoever the competition is, stop him before he stops you.”

“Did I ever say there was competition?” Jisung complained as he side eyed Changbins hand, “Yo, keep those things away from me. I just washed this apron.”

“Well Minho’s hot,” Hyunjin stated with a pointed finger, and Jisgun had to stop himself from shouting _obviously_ because that would only spur on the words of wisdom (read: idiocy) that came out of his friends mouths, “I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else was after him.”

“There _is_ someone else after him you dipshit,” Changbin strided up to Hyunjin, clasping his slimy drain hands into Hyunjin’s, “Are you blind or stupid? Chan-Hyung has had his eye on him since the day they met.”

“Seo Changbin what is wrong with you!” Hyunjin shrieked as he forceully pulled his soiled hands away from his coworker as Changbin giggled manically, “You’re a plague on society! A virus to humanity! An absolute ass of a friend!”

“That’s payback for insulting me earlier,” Changbin snorted as Hyunjin ran over to the hand washing sink with curled lips and whimpers of disgust flying from through his teeth, “You’re next, Sungie.”

Jisung raised his hand in defense, “Please spare me.”

Changbin smirked, “Only if you ask out Minho-Hyung.”

“ _Hyung_ ,” Jisung gave a pitiful moan as he slumped the top half of his body inwards, “I can’t just _do_ that. It’s not that easy and you know it.”

“Listen dude,” Changbin made his way to the handwashing sink where Hyunjin was grumbling to himself as he dried his hands with paper towels, “I can help you, but just know that Felix has been trying to help Chan-Hyung too and if you keep holding back you’re gonna miss your chance. I’m not gonna sabotage Chan because I care about him, but I care about you too.”

“You’d really do that?” Jisung’s hand snapped up, his eyes growing wide as hope finally began to rise in his chest, “Even if Felix is trying to help Channie-Hyung?”

If Changbin really wanted to help him he actually might stand a chance. While Changbin wasn’t the best person to go to for relationship advice, Hyunjin wasn’t any better. Changbin at least was in a similar situation as Jisung, pining for a boy that might not even have the same feelings for him. Even though things turned out well for Changbin, it may not for Jisung. But if Changbin could lend him some confidence, could help him through his insecurities and push him to do what he needed to do, then maybe he could get somewhere.

“Of course,” Changbin smiled as he ran his soapy hands under the hot water, “I can’t say it’ll work, but I don’t want to see you in a depressing slump because you were too much of a coward to speak up. At least if you get turned down you can finally move on.”

“I’m gonna ignore the part where you called me a coward and skip to the thanking you stage.”

“Good idea.”

* * *

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _Where are you?_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _I have an idea_

_About?_

**_Baby Changbin:_ ** _How to cure your stupidness_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _About getting you and Minho-Hyung_ _  
_ _together you idiot_

_WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN_

**_Baby Changbin:_ ** _YOU WEREN’T ANY NICER TO_ _  
_ _ME WHEN I WAS PINING FOR LIX_

_Fine whatever! What’s your plan?_

**_Baby Changbin:_ ** _Come home and I’ll tell you_

_But I’m busy_

**_Baby Changbin:_ ** _With WHAT_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _You never have plans_

_With food_

**_Baby Changbin:_ ** _And you didn’t offer any to me???_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _After all I’m doing for you???_

_Fucking fine do you want a burger?_

**_Baby Changbin:_ ** _Fuck yes_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _And fries please and thanks_

* * *

“I have arrived!” Jisung shouted, arms full of paper bags and a carefully balancing drink tray as he slammed the apartment door open.

Changbin startled in shock from where he sat on the couch, causing his PlayStation controller to fly from his hands and land about a foot away. Jisung gave him a cheeky smile as he ventured into the living room and attempted to lay out the food on the coffee table without spilling anything. “Attempting” being the important word to note because he in fact did _not_ succeed in keeping all of the food in the bag.

“My french fries!” Changbin cried as he quickly gathered the fallen fried potatoes in a pile on the coffee table and scooped them back into their cardboard container.

“They’re not just yours!” Jisung snatched a fry from Changbin’s greasy fingers and popped it into his mouth, “Sharing is caring!”

“You know that’s some hypocritical bullshit coming from the guy who wasn’t planning on sharing to begin with,” Changbin huffed under his breath as he pulled the rest of the food out in a respectable manner rather than letting it dump all over the table, “Which ones yours?”

“The one without pickles,” Jisung grabbed one of the burgers from Changbin’s hand before the other boy had a chance to react.

“Wait you got me pickles?” Changbin’s eyes darted from the only burger left in his hands to the one Jisung was currently unfolding the wrapper of, “Han Jisung, do you even know me? I can’t believe you got me pickles!”

Jisung halted just as he was pulling his burger free of its wrapper, “Just pick them off? I don’t know, you didn’t exactly give me a detailed instructional guide on how to order your burger.”

“Hmm... I’m rethinking my offer to help you~” Changbin sang with a smirk, and if Jisung had any brain cells processing at that moment, he wouldn’t have let the threat control him so easily. But the thought of Changbin abandoning him to figure out his situation with his long time crush over a damn burger was too much to risk. So with a bit more force than necessary, Jisung ripped the unopened burger from Changbin’s hands and threw the one he had been preparing to eat at his friend.

“There, no more pickles,” Jisung gave an agitated huff as Changbin grinned triumphantly, “I’ll just be like a normal grown ass adult and pick them off myself.”

Changbin paused, burger only a few inches from his mouth, and contemplated dragging along the petty argument, “I’m going to be a bigger person and ignore that.”

“Whatever Mr. Morality Man,” Jisung groaned as he took a bite, “Wha’s the plan?”

“Could you not!” Changbin gagged at Jisung’s mouth full of food, “Rule number one to getting you a boyfriend, don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Jisung shrugged, “It’s not like you don’t do it too. Anyone who says they’ve never talked with food in their mouth before is lying.”

“Yeah, maybe when I’m alone,” Changbin countered as he unwrapped his own food, “But not when I’m in the middle of a conversation with someone.”

“Okay fine,” Jisung made a scene of biting into his burger, slowly chewing and swallowing before he started a new sentence, “What’s the plan you came up with?”

“Right!” Changbin pointed at Jisung, burger in one hand and his paper cup in the other, “I heard from Felix that Chan-Hyung has been subtly flirting with Minho-Hyung.”

“Okay…” Jisung didn’t necessarily know that Chan and Minho had a close enough relationship to be talking so often that Chan had the opportunity to _flirt_ , but he wasn’t exactly surprised, “And you’re telling me this to… make me feel like shit?”

“No~,” Changbin was looking at him with way too much amusement for Jisung to deem appropriate for the situation, but he really needed Changbin’s help so he refrained from getting too visibly annoyed, “How often do you text Minho?”

“I don’t know,” Jisung pulled his phone from his pocket and opened his messenger app. He had to scroll quite a bit to reach his private chat with Minho, and with each scroll he realized how long it had been since he last spoke to Minho one-on-one. And he doesn’t even talk to very people, “Well, it’s been at least 3 months since the last time we texted unless it was part of a group chat.”

“So that’s the first step, you need to flirt with him,” Changbin leaned over to look at the pointless messages from 3 months ago consisting of work questions and time estimates for a new delivery, “And don’t talk about work. Try to get to know him more as a possible lover instead of your employer. Build up a normal constant dialogue so it becomes normal for you two to talk daily.”

“Okay, that’s easier said than done,” Jisung barely talked to people to begin with, how was he going to pass off his sudden messaging as normal without weirding out Minho, “Won’t he think it’s weird that I’ll be messaging him so much all of a sudden?”

“It’ll only be weird if you make it weird,” The advice didn’t help Jisung in the slightest, and as the younger’s disgruntled expression, Changbin elaborated, “Fine, what if you start by sending him a random fact? Be all weird and quirky to start a random conversation and then just keep it going from there. Keep messaging him until it becomes normal for you guys to talk often.”

“And you don’t think messaging everyday will get annoying for him?” As much as Jisung liked Minho, the last thing he wanted was to accidentally push him away by being too pushy or clingy in his attempts.

“Nah, have you met Minho?” Changbin chuckled, “He’s such a social butterfly. I honestly think you’re overthinking this too much because you’re thinking about how _you_ would over analyze the situation if it happened to you. Minho talks to so many people, he won’t think twice to you texting him. Which is why you need to build up a habit with him so he starts to expect your messages.”

“Okay,” Jisung took a deep breath, nodding his head along, “Yeah I can do that. I’ll just.. Talk to him?”

“Yup,” Changbin agreed with a smile, “Just be yourself, because yourself is what you’ll be for the rest of your life. Let him know who you are outside of work and outside of our group hang outs. He needs to see you for you.”

“Yeah, just be myself...” Jisung trailed off.

Hopefully himself was something Minho was into.

* * *

_Did you know the stickers on apples are edible?_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _I did not know that, and I’m concerned about_ _  
_ _how you obtained such information_

_I don’t think you want to know_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _But now I wanna try it_

_WHAT_

_WHY_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _Why not? You said they’re edible_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _Does that pertain to only apples or are other_ _  
_ _fruits, like say a banana, also on the market for fruit sticker_ _  
_ _consumption_

_Why would you eat a banana sticker though???_

_You don’t even eat a banana peel???_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _Answer the question Jisung._

_Damn okay_

_And yes, you can eat any fruit sticker_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _Interesting_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _Brb_

_WAIT NO_

_WHAT ARE YOU DOING_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _Finding a banana_

_Please NO_

_I will call Changbin-Hyung on you_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _You think he can stop me?_

_By authority? No_

_By strength? Hell yes_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _…_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _You come here… tempting me with edible stickers…_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _And then you THREATEN ME and INSULT ME_ _  
_ _with Changbin’s strength_

 _But did it stop you from eating a whole ass_ _  
_ _banana peel?_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _Maybe so_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _But for how long?_

_I swear_

_He’s on speed dial_

_I will not hesitate_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _I will fire him if he even comes CLOSE to_ _  
_ _stopping me_

_You wouldn’t dare_

_You love us too much_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _Maybe me_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _But if I tell Hongjoong to fire him for me it_ _  
_ _technically won’t be me and I will have no obligation_ _  
_ _to feel remorse_

 _God damn you really are Satan_ _  
_ _aren’t you_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _That’s what everyone calls me ;)_

_Do you feel strength from that title?_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _It recharges me as much as a quad shot_ _  
_ _Americano on a Monday morning_

 _Four shots of espresso coursing through your_ _  
_ _body each morning_

_No wonder you’re so bitter LOL_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _Uh hello HR my employee is being_ _  
_ _a complete ASS_

_YOU ARE HR_

_YOU ARE AN INDEPENDENT_ _  
_ _COFFEE SHOP_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _Well who else can I go to when I need_ _  
_ _to complain about my dick head employees???_

_Come to me <3 _

_I’ll always listen to you baby <3 _

**_Minho <3: _ ** _Even when it’s you I’m complaining about?_

_I’ll even let you call me names <3 _

**_Minho <3: _ ** _Bet_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _Next time ya’ll piss me off I’m gonna_ _  
_ _spam your phone for a MONTH_

 _Damn you need that much time to_ _  
_ _complain about us?_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _You guys give me legit migraines_

 _Are you sure that isn’t just your_ _  
_ _caffeine addiction?_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _Wait is that a thing?_

_Yeah I read about it once_

_If you get used to caffeine your body gets_ _  
_ _dependent and your head gets mad at you for_ _  
_ _depriving it of caffeine for too long resulting_ _  
_ _in a headache until you either give in_ _  
_ _or go cold turkey for like a week_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _Fuck_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _But I don’t wannaaaa_

_Then feed into the coffee addition_

_Let it consume you_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _Okay_

_Okay?_

_That’s it?_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _Coffee is my fuel_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _Why would I cut myself off of_ _  
_ _the thing I need to survive_

 _I mean, I myself have a coffee addiction_ _  
_ _so I feel that_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _Let’s harness the caffeine and_ _  
_ _make it our bitch_

_How???_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _I’ll figure it out_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _And when I do I will be crowned_ _  
_ _Coffee Bean King_

_You should change the name of your cafe to that_

_Instead of just the standard ‘Last Stop Cafe’_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _I named it when I was 19 what_ _  
_ _did you expect_

_It makes it sound like everyone’s last choice_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _Fuck you’re right_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _But that’s so much paperwork_

_I’ll help_

**_Minho <3: _ ** _Are you being serious or joking?_

_100% serious_

_Idk how much I can do but I can be_ _  
_ _great emotional support_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _hmm tempting_

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _I’ll keep you updated_

_Lovely <3 _

* * *

“Hey Jisung,” Minho came busting through the employees door into the main lobby. Jisung, who was stationed at the front register turned just in time for Minho to stride right up to him, “Are you free when you get off?”

“Oh, me?” Jisung blinked at the older who nodded his head, “Uh, yeah. What’s up?”

“I need to do that paperwork we were talking about,” Ah yes, the paperwork that Jisung had offered to help Minho with nearly a month ago at the beginning of their texting adventures. Jisung could say he had been successfully maintaining a steady flow of communication with Minho without the older suspiciously questioning him about the sudden change. In that time, Minho and Jisung had grown a bit closer than they were and Jisung had accidentally offered himself as a crutch in nearly any of Minho’s endeavors. Not that he minded.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll stay for a bit.”

“Great!” Minho beamed as he pulled Jisung into a hug. Jisgun had no idea how to react to the unexpected affection, his arms awkwardly positioned on either side of Minho's body. He peered over the older boy's shoulder where Hyunjin and Changbin were aggressively motioning him to hug back. Jisung quickly responded by reciprocating the hug which only caused Minho to hug back even tighter. 

The café owner pulled back with a wide grin on his face, patting Jisung on his upper arms, and trotting back to the back room. All three baristas froze for a total of five seconds, then Hyunjin began vibrating in place while Changbin had a cheshire grin on his face.

“Oh my god he looked like a kitten!” Hyunjin shook his fists in front of his chest, “He’s so into you dude!”

“What do you mean?” Jisung reeled back, because honestly as much as he wanted Minho to like him as more than a friend, there was no way that interaction could be read as anything other than friendly, “He’s just excited that I’m helping him.”

“Sungie, how often does _Minho-Hyung_ hug someone?” Changbin had a point, Minho wasn’t really one to randomly hug them like that. But on some occasions he was known to be cuddly so really it was up to interpretation.

“Maybe he’s just feeling affectionate today?” Jisung’s suggestion did absolutely nothing to convince his two coworkers.

“Why are you trying to act like it was nothing?” Changbin stomped in place childishly, “This is progress! Minho-Hyung from a month ago wouldn’t have done that!”

“Wouldn’t have hugged me?” It wasn’t unknown that Jisung was an overthinker. But he was also someone that made everything seem much less important when it may be colossal news. He kept his hopes low and expectations even lower to prevent anything from bumming him more than he could handle, that's just how he was. Which is why when stuff like this happens he would sooner give it a reasonable explanation than read between the lines for the truth.

“No duh!” Hyunjin grabbed Jisung by the shoulders and shook with enough force to mimic Hyunjin’s own vibrating happiness, “This is developing so much faster than ChangLix did!”

“I wanna yell at you for that but I know you’re right,” Changbin sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, “You’ve progressed more in a month than I did in four.”

“This is great! So when are you gonna ask him out!” Hyunjin shoved his face into Jisung’s, his eyes blinked too fast for Jisung to focus on, and the espresso on his breath nearly made him gag.

“Don’t pressure me!” Jisung pushed Hyunjin back forcefully, “I don’t even know if he really likes me yet. I don’t wanna risk asking him right now and get shot down. I need to give him more time.”

“You’re just scared,” Hyunjin whined as Changbin agreed, “You need to put yourself out there!”

Jisung wanted to argue back. He wanted to say that he didn’t want to rush into things and make a mistake. He wanted to tell them he didn’t want to force Minho into accepting him and he didn’t want to make things awkward until he was 100% ready to take the risk. He didn’t want to lose his friendship, his job, or his circle of people all because he was too hasty and asked Minho out only to be rejected.

Yes he was terrified, because who wouldn’t be scared of having a knee deep crush on your boss for a year? 

But right as he was about to retort, the café door opened with the chime of a bell. All three of them turned to greet the customer, only to fall short as no one other than Bang Chan came striding into the café carrying a gift bag in his hand. Hyunjin and Changbin gave a loud greeting while Jisung’s may have been a little half assed, but Chan hadn’t noticed.

“Hey guys!” Chan smiled as he approached the counter, “How’re you doing?”

“Pretty good,” Changbin answered with his hand stuffed into his apron, “It’s slow this late in the day so we’ve just been chilling.”

“What brings you here?” Hyunjin questioned with a not so secret glance down at the nicely presented gift bag dangling from his fingers.

“Actually I wanted to see Minho if that’s alright?” Chan awkwardly rubbed his hands through his hair as his eyes danced between the three baristas, “I told him I wanted to meet up with him and he told me just come here.”

“Oh, he’s in the back,” Changbin pointed over his shoulder, “Should I go tell him you’re here?”

“Oh no it’s fine!” Chan flung his hands in front of him, “I’ll just head back there. Thanks!”

“Yeah no problem,” Changbin replied with a smile as Chan passed by the bar entrance and disappeared into the employee only door.

“Well fuck,” Jisung quite literally sunk into himself, “He brought Minho-Hyung a gift?”

“Well, he didn’t say it was for Minho-Hyung,” Hyunjin tried to offer, but even Changbin wasn’t entertaining that thought for a second.

“We all know it was for Minho-Hyung. You gotta step up your game, Sungie.”

“I know,” Jisung sighed, leaning his entire body weight on the counter behind him as he stared longingly at the employee door, “But I have no idea how.”

* * *

Jisung clocked off at 3 PM, and Chan hadn’t left the store in the 1 hour and 30 minutes it took him to finish his shift.

Wooyoung had arrived to take over for him, and Jisung had nearly flung himself out of the bar floor as soon as he passed through the threshold. Changbin and Hyunjin were giving him stares of pity while the younger tugged off his apron with a pout. He clutched the fabric in his hands, glancing at the employee door where Minho and Jisung’s bag were located, a person and an item he was going to need before he left the premises. But along with those things is Chan, who had most definitely brought Minho a present, and Jisung definitely couldn’t top that.

“Do you think my bag would still be here tomorrow if I left without it?”

“Definitely not,” Hyunjin tucked the rag he was using to dry off the counter into his apron, “I’ll take it home and hold it hostage until you finally confront your feelings.”

“Has anyone ever told you you’re _really_ pushy?” Jisung shot a glare at Hyunjin, who only shrugged in response.

“Just go in,” Changbin interrupted whatever defense Hyunjin was about to make, “You already told Hyung you would help him. It would be rude of you to disappear now.”

“I know,” he whined, it would be insanely shitty of him to promise Minho he would help and then ditch without warning. And all for what? Because his kind-of-rival showed up to infringe on his time with Minho?

He could be mature, any adult in his situation wouldn’t be chickening out so quickly. Above all, Minho was his friend, not just his crush. If Minho needed him as a friend, he should always be available regardless of the gymnastics his heart did in his chest. So what if maybe he was a little envious of Chan for not having thought of bringing Minho a gift before…

“Wait, I have an idea,” Jisung’s lips pulled into a grin as he ignored the two baristas still standing at the entrance to the bar. He rushed past his two confused friends, sloppily throwing back on his black apron without tying a knot in the back, and pulled out three large iced coffee cups. Hyunjin and Changbin stared at Jisung in confusion as the squirrely boy queued up four espresso shots in one espresso machine and another four in the one next to it. As the hot liquid spilled into the two cups Jisung picked up the third one and spun around to face his friends, “Do you think Chan-Hyung would like a white mocha? Or should I try something fancier?”

“You went from being jealous of Chan-Hyung to making him coffee?” Changbin tilted his head with an amused chuckle, “What happened in your head Sungie?”

“I don’t know,” Jisung dropped his hands to his side with a shrug, “I don’t have time to go out and get Minho-Hyung a gift, and I don’t wanna walk in their empty handed. So I’ll just pay for Hyung’s coffee and surprise him with four shots of caffeine.”

“Okay, that’s a pretty smart idea,” Hyunjin nodded along, “But you also wanna make something for Chan-Hyung? And something fancy, at that?”

“Well I can’t exactly show up with something for me and Minho-Hyung and not Channie-Hyung. That’s like a big ‘Fuck You’ in coffee lingo,” Jisung brought the cup in his hands back up to eye level, narrowing his eyes in thought as his gaze drifted from the cold bar to the iced teas and back to the espresso machine, “I think I’m gonna make him a Frappuccino.”

“Absolutely not,” Changbin snorted as he purposely stepped in front of the cold bar before Jisung had a chance to even touch the blenders, “You know Frappuccino's are just sugar with a side of caffeine. If you want to give him coffee, you need to use _actual_ espresso. Not the fake frap roast crap.”

“Okay fine,” Jisung huffed as he turned back to the two espresso bars that were nearly finished pulling the shots into the iced cups, “How about a simple iced latte then?”

“That’s like nothing compared to the extravagance you were about to go for with the Frappuccino,” Hyunjin smirked with a side glance toward Changbin, “Are you sure you’re not trying to impress Channie-Hyung instead of Minho-Hyung?”

Jisung froze in place, blinking slowly as he watched the dark stream of espresso dwindle down to a drip until it stopped entirely. The small screen atop the machine blinked, and Jisung took the cups and filled them with cold water on auto pilot before the bare espresso had a chance to go bad.

It was weird, wasn’t it? Going out of his way to make Minho _and_ Chan coffee? If he had known Chan’s favorite coffee order, we might have just stuck to what was safe. But he didn’t know what Chan liked to drink because it changed so often, so he had to guess. Americanos were something he and Minho loved, but it wasn’t a taste everyone craved. He just wanted to make Chan something nice... was that a crime?

Why did he feel so weird about it now?

“Sungie?” Hyunjin placed a hand on Jisung's shoulder which shook the younger out of his suddenly troubling thoughts, “You good?”

“Yeah,” Jisung coughed out as he busied himself with filling the two cups with ice, “Just dandy.”

“I definitely don’t believe you,” Jisung could hear the frown on Hyunjin’s face, but he didn’t turn to look at his two coworkers. Instead he pumped six pumps of vanilla syrup into the cup, queued three espresso shots, and watched the espresso mix with the liquid sugar at the bottom of the cup.

“Jisung…” Changbin stepped closer to him, mirroring Hyunjin but on the other side of Jisung’s body, “Did we go to far?”

Did they? They didn’t exactly do anything _wrong_ . It was harmless teasing meant to be funny, just three dudes poking fun at each other like they did any other day. All they did was make a suggestion, one that seemed to be deeply rooted in Jisung’s mind now that it had been presented to him. There wasn’t anything to be upset about unless they were correct. Which is why Jisung was nervous, because he _was_ upset.

So that meant they must be right.

He _did_ want to impress Chan, and he didn’t know how he felt about that. Up until now, he just wanted to one up him. He wanted to prove to Minho he was more than a dongsaeng, that he was boyfriend material and worthy of a relationship. Never in that equation was Chan’s opinion of him ever calculated. He didn’t think about how to make Chan happy, he thought about how to make _Minho_ happy. But now he’s trying to make Chan a fancy frappuccino and buying him coffee because he felt like it. So what the hell did that mean?

“We’re sorry Sungie,” Hyunjin draped his arm over Jisung’s shoulders with a light squeeze, “We’ll be careful next time, okay?”

“It’s fine,” Jisung mumbled just as the espresso finished. He took the cup from the machine and began filling milk to the to line, “I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Well if you want to talk later, you know I’m all ears,” Changbin reminded him which Jisung gave a small nod in return to.

“I know, thanks Hyung,” He finished off the drink with a lid before piling all three into his hands. He turned around, facing his two concerned friends with a poorly forced smile, “I should go help now.”

* * *

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Hey Jisung! Thanks for buying me coffee_ _  
_ _today! I really appreciate it!_

_Hey :)_

_It’s no problem Hyung, I’m glad you liked it_

_I had to guess because I didn’t know what you liked_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Oh really? Why didn’t you just come_ _  
_ _ask me? I was only a room away_

_Oh_

_Well I mean, then it wouldn’t be a surprise right?_

_And you would have told me not to buy it because you’re_ _  
_ _too nice_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Okay you got me there_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _But for future reference, I do like vanilla_ _  
_ _lattes lol_

_Well I’m glad I picked that then!_

_Next time you randomly show up to the coffee shop to_ _  
_ _visit Minho-Hyung I’ll be sure to make you a vanilla_ _  
_ _latte in secret_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Nooo then you will literally burn a hole_ _  
_ _through your wallet_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _I’m a big boy I can buy my own coffee_

_Hm so you say_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _What is that supposed to mean???_

_Whatever you want it to :)_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _You’re very strange_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _But it’s cute, I like it_

_You like it???_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Yeah? It’s nice to talk to people that_ _  
_ _are a little weird. It’d be boring to talk to a brick wall_ _  
_ _that just echos back the same shit to me day after day_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _I like variety_

_Well I’m glad I provide variety to your life???_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Damn right you do_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _We should talk more often, I need_ _  
_ _as much variety as I can right now_

_Why does that sound like a cry for help_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Because it is_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Help me_

_WTF WHY_

_WHAT’S WRONG_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _The only person I talk to on a daily_ _  
_ _basis is Felix and while I love that boy to death all he_ _  
_ _ever talks about is Changbin and a man can only handle_ _  
_ _so much gushing before he gets romantically stunted_

_Romantically stunted_

_Lmao okay_

_And I help with this how?_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Well when you put it like that it sounds weird_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Listen, Felix won’t shut up about how many_ _  
_ _times Changbin kisses him each night and I have been hearing_ _  
_ _about it for a whole damn year_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _PLEASE release me of my torture and entertain_ _  
_ _me for like five minutes_

_Okay sure_

_But I feel like I should get something in return ;)_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Okay what do you want_

_Wait you’re just giving in?_

_No questions, restrictions, or complaints?_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _I mean now you make me a little hesitant_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _You’re not gonna ask me to murder anyone right?_

_Wellll_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Damn it_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Alright who is it_

_LMAO I’M KIDDING_

_But I mean if you wanted to help me kill my landlord_ _  
_ _that’d be chill_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _No can do mate_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _I’d go to prison_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _And we all know you guys would miss me_ _  
_ _too much_

_Hm sounds like fake news_

_Where’d you hear that?_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _WHAT_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Nevermind I’m not doing anything for you_

_WAIT I TAKE IT BACK_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _LAST CHANCE SUNGIE_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM CHANNIE-HYUNG_

_A Kangaroo_

_Straight from Australia_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _But I am a Kangaroo straight Australia_

_A REAL ONE_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _AM I NOT REAL TO YOU?_

_FINE GOD DAMN IT_

_Just surprise me then_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Ooooh like a present?_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _I like giving presents_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _You remember that candle I bought for_ _  
_ _Minho today?_

_Yeah, the fall scented one_

_BTW that was a very good gift idea_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Well thanks I’m very glad you think so :D_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Maybe I’ll get you one too~_

_Oh_

_Really?_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Do you like candles?_

_I’ll like anything you give me!_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Ugh that doesn’t help me at all_

_Good luck ;)_

* * *

“Dude, this kind of sounds like flirting,” Changbin laughed as he scrolled through Jisungs phone with his messages with Chan on display. Jisung and Changbin were sitting on the younger's bed, Jisung bundled up in a blanket as he had Changbin dissect the conversation he and Chan had just had nearly ten minutes ago, “He even called you cute.”

“But why?” Jisung asked frantically as he tried to piece things together in his head, “There’s no way. He’s already into Minho-Hyung, he even told Felix. So _why_ would he flirt with me?”

“Have you ever heard of polyamory?” Changbin kept his eye on the text thread, slowly reading each word with calculating eyes, “You can love more than one person, Sungie. It’s a thing, look it up.”

“What?” Jisung shook his head in bewilderment, visibly recoiling in his position, “Why does this sound like something Hyunjin would say?”

“Don’t be a baby,” Changbin waved him off without taking his eyes away from the phone, “Jinnie may be into some weird shit, but it’s only weird to us because we don’t do it. It’s actually not that uncommon.”

“So you’re saying loving two people at once is common?” Jisung was torn between wanting to laugh and wanted to scream, and he wasn’t necessarily if it was out of joy or terror, “Dude, being gay isn’t even common, how is pullyarmy common?”

“First of all,” Changbin dropped the phone with an exaggerated sigh, “It’s polyamory, not pullyarmy. And secondly, I’m just saying that it’s not something to be scared of. There’s plenty of people who are in a poly relationship, they have a community.”

“Really?” Jisung perked up as various scenarios played out in his head, “Do you think… Channie-Hyung’s...?”

“Into polyamory?” Jisung nodded at his friend in response, who picked back up the younger boys phone from the bed sheets, “I mean, I’m not 100% sure, but to me it seems like he has a thing for you as well. I can always ask Felix but ever since I told him I’m helping you he’s been pretty tightlipped about Channie-Hyung’s mission to woo Minho-Hyung.”

It felt like a strange coincidence to Jisung, that just after he started to realize he was thinking of Chan as something a bit more than friendly, something like this would happen. Though he had to admit, the idea of dating both Minho and Chan intrigued him. The attraction he felt towards Minho was mirrored in his feelings towards Chan. The familiar care and affection he craved was reciprocated from both boys equally, and each of them made him feel lighter than he’s ever been.

But there was the very real possibility that neither of them actually liked him back, and that Jisung was going to end up depressed, single, and an embarrassment forced to see his two crushes love each other from afar.

“Quit overthinking things,” Changbins fist lightly punched Jisung’s shoulder as the older pushed himself off of the bed, “You’re going to set your brain on fire if you keep freaking out.”

“I just… I don’t know about all of this,” He admitted, as Changbin straightened out his twisted clothing, “What if neither of them are like that and I’m just reaching? I mean, what even is there to like about me?”

“Sungie…” Jisung avoided eye contact, choosing to stare at his fidgeting fingers as his insecurities came to light.

Jisung awkwardly sat still, imaging the sneering faces of his friends when they found out he was crushing on not one, but _two_ of their friends. He imagined how much funnier Minho was than him, how much stronger Chan was than him, how much happier they would be without him. It was selfish to go after two guys that obviously already liked each other when he should be content to let them both chase after their own dreams without his interference. 

Maybe he should drop these stupid crushes, after all they weren’t getting him anywhere other than heartbreak. In the end, Minho would choose Chan and Chan would choose Minho over Jisung any day. They would be a perfect couple, emphasis on _couple_ , and not a perfect three way relationship. He needed to accept that, and move on before he hurt himself more than he already was.

Jisung was knocked from his thoughts as Changbin tackled his side, forcing his body to hit the mattress with a huff. The elder wrapped his arms around Jisung, trapping him under the weight of Changbin’s body against his will. Though Jisung had no strength to fight it off, instead he laid still as Changbin squeezed him and muttered, “Let’s stop talking about this right now. I think I need to remind you that you’re valid and worth way more than you think.”

* * *

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Hey Sungie_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Wanna hang out today?_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Jiiiissssuuuunnnggg_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Did you die?? It’s been like a day_

**_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Okay you’re worrying me now :(_

* * *

 **_Minho <3: _ ** _Jisungiiieeee_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _Channie-Hyung said he messaged you yesterday but you didn’t reply_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _And we haven’t talked in a few days :(_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _And you keep getting your shifts covered for you_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _Are you okay?_

**_Minho <3:_ ** _If you don’t respond soon I’m gonna just pop over to your’s and Changbin’s and see for myself that you’re at least alive_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _I can give you some time off if you need it, but I wanna make sure you’re okay_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _I miss you <3 I hope you feel better soon _

* * *

**_Baby Changbin_ ** _added_ **_Minho <3, Kangaroo-Hyung, _ ** _and_ **_You_ ** _into a group!_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _Hey guys, I wanted to make this chat to inform_ _  
_ _you that Jisung isn’t dead, nor is he hurt or in trouble. He’s just_ _  
_ _having a rough time right now and hasn’t had the ability to get_ _  
_ _back to you_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _He’ll text you two back asap_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _Thank god I thought he got kidnapped_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Well I thought he was dead so_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _He’s not dead, but you could say he’s been_ _  
_ _kidnapped by his bed_

 ** _Baby Changbin:_** _Sent 35963.img_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _Aww that's cute_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _But he looks sick D:_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _Is he sick?!?_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _He wasn’t at first_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _But then he became sick_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _Is he up for company? I can bring soup_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _I bought him tea too but I haven’t been_ _  
_ _able to give it to him yet_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _You got the americano lover tea???_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Listen I tried my best, I was thinking_ _  
_ _of his health_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _And he didn’t give me much of a guideline_ _  
_ _for what he likes besides pure caffeine in the form of espresso_ _  
_ _and water_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _Watch it asshole :)_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _I’M NOT DISSING AMERICANO’S CHILL_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Besides, I can occasionally enjoy coffee water as well_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _WHAT_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _You really just called it coffee water_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _Minho-Hyung AND Jisung are gonna own your ass_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Please :(_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _Spare me :(_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _I’ll do you something better_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _I’ll tell you what Ji REALLY loves_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _You’re gonna tell him and not me?_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _Blatant favoritism right here_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _Hyung you already know what it is_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _-_-_

 **_Baby Changbin:_ ** _Anyways, I’ll text it to you Channie-Hyung_

 **_Kangaroo-Hyung:_ ** _:D_

 **_Minho <3:_ ** _-_-_

* * *

“How are you feeling, Jisung?” A muffled voice came from the bedroom door, one that Jisung recognized as Felix. His roommate's boyfriend had been spending the past few days at Changbin and Jisung’s apartment, bringing with him a buffet of sweets and endless cuddles upon request. 

Ever since the night Jisung had a mental breakdown at the possibility of liking two people at once, he had been in a slump that he couldn’t climb out of. Changbin had stayed by his side until morning when he offered to go into work for Jisung’s shift at the café, and Felix arrived at the apartment only ten minutes before Changbin left and hadn’t made any move to return to his own apartment. He kept Changbin company as both boys tried to help Jisung through his issues.

Issues that he shouldn’t be happening in the first place, because it was ridiculous and selfish.

Felix didn’t know about Jisung’s debacle, or at least Jisung hadn’t told him if he did know. Felix had remained polite and respectful of minding Jisung’s space, and Jisung appreciated the boy for keeping things as normal as possible. Even though Jisung had yet to leave his bed for the third day consecutively and hadn’t eaten a full meal in 48 hours, neither Felix nor Changbin hadn’t gotten annoyed with him

The sound of the door creaking open forced Jisung to hide his head under his blanket as light seeped into the room. Changbin had gone somewhere, Jisung couldn’t remember for the life of him where that somewhere was, and Felix was left to make dinner and most likely try to convince Jisung to eat. Which Jisung knew he really should, after all he was pretty hungry, but he just didn’t want to see anyone. He didn’t want to talk, didn’t want to move, didn’t even want to think if he didn’t have to.

Everything seemed like way too much to him at the moment.

“Jisung~” Felix hummed near Jisung’s head, “We have soup for dinner. Are you up to eating?”

Jisung gave a grunt in response, which Felix could translate to whatever he wanted considering there weren’t any words to go with it.

“Well, if you do want to eat, I have a surprise for you afterwards.”

A surprise?

Jisung poked his head from the comforter he was hiding under, exposing his forehead to the cold air circulating in his bedroom. Felix was crouched next to him on the floor, giving him a kind smile that brightened at seeing Jisungs face resurface.

“Hey!” Felix beamed, and Jisung felt too scared of making him sad to disappear under the covers again, “You don’t have to move if you don’t want to. But can I bring you in some soup?”

At the mention of food, Jisung felt his stomach cramp reminding him of how long it’s been since he actually ate. If he kept pushing it off, he knew his friends would get rightfully worried. And he really shouldn’t be inconveniencing them so much anyways, it wasn’t their fault he couldn’t sort through his shit.

So with a bit of hesitance, Jisung nodded.

“Okay!” Felix cheered aloud, pushing himself up to his feet, “I’ll be right back.”

Felix exited the dark room, leaving Jisung partially hidden under the covers until the blonde boy returned with a bowl of soup and water bottle. He placed the two in the desk next to the bed, waiting until Jisung properly sat up to give it to him. When Jisung had a lap full of soup, Felix settled himself sideways on the bed with his legs draped over Jisungs and his back against the wall. He stared at Jisung with an innocent smile, clearly elated that Jisung was finally eating, and if Jisung was in a normal state of mind he would have found Felix’s desire to help so much cute.

But Jisung just sniffled awkwardly as a tickle in the throat threatened to assault him with a cough attack and forced a spoonful of soup down into his churning stomach.

Both boys were silent as the sound of metal hitting ceramic glass filled the room. Felix went on his phone a few times to text someone and Jisung entertained himself by staring at the wall as he subconsciously ate more of the chicken noodle soup. When he finished, he didn’t notice until he dipped his spoon back in only to bring air back to lips.

“Do you want more?” Felix sat up in the bed as he looked at the empty bowl, “Or do you want to see the surprise?”

“I’m done,” Jisung’s voice was scratchy after days of disuse, but Felix only gestured towards the unopened water bottle.

As Jisung drank the water, Felix took the bowl from him and brought it into the kitchen. The cool water felt nice against his sore throat, and after eating he had to admit he felt a bit better. Just as he finished the water, Felix came back with a toothy grin and two hands carrying a plate of cheesecake.

“Oh fuck yeah,” Jisung sputtered, causing Felix is laugh as he set the cheesecake down in front of him.

“Yeah, I figured you’d like some cheesecake,” Felix said as he settled himself back down on the bed, “Channie-Hyung bought it for you as a gift and gave it to me and Changbin to give you.”

“He did?” Jisung thought back to the conversation he and Chan had last, only a few days ago that caused the sudden shift in his mental health. The one where Chan flirted with him and confused the shit out of him and destroyed everything he thought to be true in a matter of minutes. Bang Chan seemed to have a habit of screwing things up for him. First showing up and vying for Minho’s heart when Jisung was head over heels for him and then making Jisung question everything he’d ever known by causing him gay panic.

And then he bought him cheesecake, Jisung’s favorite food, even though Jisung had been thoroughly ignoring him for days. Why did Bang Chan have to be so hot _and_ kind?

“Yeah,” Felix resumed the conversation, oblivious to Jisung inner turmoil, “And Minho-Hyung brought the soup. He said he made it himself, and I have to say he’s really good at it.”

“Wait what?” Jisung mumbled around a piece of cake, “Minho-Hyung made the soup?”

“Yup!” Jisung nearly dropped his fork, “He heard you weren’t feeling well and made a whole pot. We have enough for leftovers too.”

Minho, the man that made Jisung come to the realization that he was gay, and a big gay at that, had made him soup? Minho was kind, don’t get him wrong, but he was an asshole too. A loving asshole that made his cheeks hurt. He was funny, loved to tease people, and pranked their friends on a daily basis. But when he wanted to, he had a sweet side that came out every now and then. He was genuine, honest, and open, it was what made Jisung fall for him in the first place.

And knowing he made soup just because Jisung wasn’t feeling well brought literal tears to his eyes.

“Oh no Sungie,” Felix shot up, “You’re crying all over the cheesecake.”

Jisung couldn’t stop the sob from escaping his chest, letting an ugly cry take over against his will. Felix frantically took the plate from Jisung and pulled him into his arms, “Hey, you’re okay. Did I say something?”

Jisung shook his head against Felix’s chest, “Okay, is it about what’s been bothering you for the past few days?”

Jisung nodded, but he didn’t have the strength of the courage to explain. He just felt hollow, confused, lonely, and terrified. His feelings were wrong, his mind was wrong, his everything was wrong. And he had no idea what to do. Felix shushed him softly as he rocked his body side to side, letting him cry into his shirt with streaming snot and tears.

“It’s okay,” Felix whispered into Jisung hair, “We’ll figure this out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will post chapter 2 as soon as I can!
> 
> My Socials:  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Reltic_)  
> [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/_reltic_/)


	2. No, it's Polyamory

“So, I gotta ask,” Changbin sat down in the seat in front of Chan, ignoring the various customers seated near them as he leveled his older friend with a mischievous glint in his eye, “Who does Mr. Bang Chan fancy?”

Chan blinked, processing what Changbin asked him while simultaneously shooting a nervous glance at the other families in Minho’s cafe. He should have known something was up when Changbin asked to meet him randomly during the day, but he didn’t expect such a personal question to be the first thing out of his mouth, “Uh, fancy? Are we in the 1930’s?”

“Could you be gay in the 1930’s?” Changbin countered, then pointed at Chan expectantly without waiting for an answer, “Then no, just answer the question.” 

“Well you would still be gay,” Chan considered as he ignored Changbin, putting much more thought into the scenario than necessary, “But you might get killed for it.”

“You’re not getting the point,” Changbin groaned as he rubbed his palm over his face, “I need to order coffee for this.”

“Don’t bother,” Minho said as he approached the table carrying three iced cups in his hands, “I saw you two coming in and made it in advance.”

“Wow, Minho to the rescue,” Chan grinned as he moved to the side for Minho to sit with him, “You didn’t have to, though.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Minho nudged Chan with his shoulder causing the cafe owner to wind up slightly closer to Chan, which the older was perfectly fine with.

As he turned his attention back to Changbin, he was surprised to see a knowing smirk plastered over his face which he quickly tried to mask by sipping his coffee. Chan narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously, “What are you doing?”

“Hm?” Changbin voiced around the straw in his mouth, but the suggestive expression was still there, “What do you mean?”

“Why are you being all weird?” Chan quickly pulled out his phone, half expecting to see a flood of text messages from Felix warning him of something but only saw a blank home screen. He had to force himself to not be bothered by the absence of a certain username belonging to Jisung, “Did you do something to Felix and now you’re trying to subtly break it to me before I break you in return?”

“Are you serious,” Changbin groaned dramatically, almost as dramatic as Hyunjin was a majority of the time, “You guys are so oblivious it’s not even funny.”

“Hey, why are you picking on me now?” Minho pouted towards Changbin, “After everything I’ve done for you. You children are so disrespectful.”

“You’re literally only a year older than me!” Changbin shot back as Minho snickered into his coffee.

“Yup, and I’m the one who pays your bills.” Minho stirred his straw playfully as he smirked to himself, “So pick your words wisely.”

“You’re impossible,” Chan held back his chuckle as Changbin groaned to himself.

“As much as I love the bickering,” Chan gave a pointed look to Minho followed by Changbin, “I think Binnie was trying to talk to me about something before the conversation got derailed.”

“Well I’ll leave you both to it then,” Minho gave a soft knock to the table as he pulled himself out of the booth. The cafe owner turned around once he was on his feet, dazzling them with his toothy smile, “Talk to you later?”

“Of course,” Chan couldn’t help but smile back as Minho turned on his heel and headed to the back room.

“So,” Changbin leaned forward, both elbows in the table as he finally lowered his voice into an acceptable volume, “You and Hyung have been getting close.”

“Yeah, I guess you could say so,” Chan didn’t have to _guess_ about it for long, because he and Minho had been getting awfully close.

They texted each other daily, including morning and nighttime texts that more often than not included some not-so-unintentional flirting. He’d learned alot about the young cafe owner with three cats over the past year, like that he was estranged from his family and that the cafe was his ticket to freedom. He knew MInho loved to dance, and his cats were his babies, and that his friends meant the world to him. He got to see past the boys playful and nonchalant attitude to reveal a sensitive guy that cared a lot.

“Are things getting serious between you two?” Changbin was asking his questions strangely, like he was dancing around whatever he really wanted to ask.

Things weren’t necessarily serious, mainly because Chan had his own issues to work through before he could actively seek out Minho as a romantic partner. Issues involving a certain squishy cheeked boy that disappeared off the face of the earth a few days ago. A boy Chan had been trying to get himself to drop the sudden strange attachment for. Jisung, the barista that had been occupying Chan’s thoughts far longer than should be considered normal.

And he really didn’t want to bring that with him if he planned on getting closer with Minho.

Jisung was a good kid, and a really sweet guy, but Chan felt shitty for entertaining the thoughts that were stringing along in his head. And he would feel even worse if he explored things with Minho while those thoughts were still floating along. He wanted to convince his mind and his heart that Jisung was just a friend, and that all he ever would be was a friend, but with the squirrely boy's sudden absence it only made his heart worry. He couldn’t help but wonder what caused such a shift in his life to warrant days of missed work and avoiding his friends.

“No, not really,” Chan tried to answer the question without any of his troubling thoughts hanging onto the words, “Just taking things a day at a time.”

“Hm,” Changbin hummed with a nod as he pulled his lips down into a forced frown, “So, that means Minho is free game then?”

“What?” Chan physically jolted back, his face morphing into one of pure horror and confusion, “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I’m saying exactly what I just said,” Changbin stared into his eyes, looking far more intimidating than he ever has in their entire year of friendship, “Is Minho free game?”

“No!” Chan replied instantly before realizing what he just said. His eyes widened comically as he tried to back track, “W-wait I didn’t-”

“Well great,” Changbin interrupted with a cocky grin, spinning his drink in his circular motion as he teased Chan with each word, “Since he’s all yours, that means Jisung is on the market. Right?”

“Changbin, what the hell are you trying to do?” Chan growled, letting just a bit of tension into his jaw as his emotions started to seep out.

“Minho isn’t the only person you fancy, is it?” There Changbin was, throwing out the completely outdated word and throwing it in his face, _taunting_ him with his feelings as he sipped on his free coffee. 

Chan knew his inner turmoil was painted all over his face, as if his heart was cut open and put on display. Changbin stared at him as if he didn’t just dissect everything in Chan’s head while Chan mentally malfunctioned in the booth at Minho’s cafe. He felt vulnerable, like he was just caught committing a crime and was about to be prosecuted for treason. But Changbin didn’t seem angry with him for seemingly confirming Changbin’s assumption, if anything he seemed happy about Chan’s blatant confession.

“I kinda figured,” Changbin slumped into the booth with his arms crossed over his chest, “You were flirting with Sungie over text, weren’t you?”

“I was?” Chan mumbled, still wide eyed as he thought back to his and Jisung’s messages. He genuinely hadn’t meant to act any differently. He was just trying to be nice, friendly. Maybe he was trying too hard to be kind that it ended up leaking further into the flirting category that he was trying to avoid, “I didn’t even notice.”

“Either that or you were just way nicer than usual,” Changbin shrugged, “Maybe you did it subconsciously, but that doesn’t dismiss that fact that I know you like him too.”

“You don’t _know_ anything…” Chan muttered bitterly, as much as Changbin may have just flustered him he wasn’t that much of an openbook.

“Let’s ask the coffee gods,” Changbin offered as he pulled the lid off his iced latte, shooting a quick glance down into the milk before pulling his face back up with a determined expression, “They say you’re full of shit.”

“Screw your coffee gods,” Chan sneered as he used his palm to wave the cup away, “They’re not all knowing.”

“Dude you just basically admitted it,” Changbin countered with a sigh, “Listen, it’s not a bad thing Hyung.”

“What do you mean?” Chan hadn’t meant for his voice to come out so aggressive, but he was stressed out. He was frustrated with himself, with the situation, with his feelings and all of the problems they conjured up, “You said it yourself, I have a big fat crush on two of our friends. How are you going to tell me that’s not a bad thing?”

“Oh my god, I thought you were at least a little informed on this,” Changbin pinched the bridge of his nose, looking just as frustrated as Chan felt, “Have you ever heard of Polyamory?”

* * *

**_pol·y·am·o·ry_ _  
__/ˌpälēˈamərē/_ **

**_Noun_ _  
__The practice of engaging in multiple romantic (and typically sexual) relationships, with the consent of all the people involved._ **

Chan reread the definition, then read again for a third time until the words were ringing in his head on repeat. The artificial light of his laptop illuminated his face as the darkness of his bedroom provided him momentary solace. He’d never realized this was _real_ , that there was an official term for loving more than one person. It was a bit surreal, just earlier today Chan was internally fighting with himself and his emotions as he tried to wrangle in his attraction for two boys at once.

But then Changbin walked up and shattered the glass box he was hiding in, exposing him to an entire world and community he’d never experienced before. One that understood and sympathized with what he was going through. One that told him his feelings weren’t odd or wrong, and gave him resources to figure things out.

What he felt for Minho was very real and very special. It was a year of delicate moments, constant communication, and a mutual decision to explore each other. It had taken time to build up their friendship, and in that time Chan wasn’t stupid enough to not notice Minho reciprocating his advances. But neither had taken it further, content with remaining ambiguous friends for the foreseeable future.

Chan knew his reasoning for holding back, and it involved Han Jisung, the adorable barista. It was only a recent discovery that Jisung meant a lot more to him than he realized, maybe a few months ago. And his attempts at trying to talk to the boy had been met with nothing. Jisung had always been closed off and hard to get close to. It wasn’t by any fault of Jisung, he was just naturally shy and introverted which Chan respected. But each text thread ended as fast as it started, and the boy was never alone long enough at group hang outs for Chan to actively attempt to develop more between them.

But then Jisung bought him coffee, and it spiraled from there to the point that the boy was thoroughly ignoring him and Minho. Changbin may have told them Jisung wasn’t ignoring them on purpose, but he couldn’t help the part of him that said it wasn’t coincidence he suddenly stopped speaking to them both at the same time. Chan still wasn’t entirely sure what happened to Jisung over the past few days, but he knew it didn’t sit right with him.

As for Minho, Chan didn’t know what made the other hold back from pushing their relationship forward. As far as Chan could tell, Minho was just as interested as he was, yet he let Chan make all of the first moves. He had a small, childish hope that maybe Minho was in the same position as him, but another darker part of his mind told him was reading too much into everything.

He felt like a child trying to figure out a math problem without any of the main components to make a formula. Except he was an adult, trying to piece together whether he was polyamorous and if the two guys he was interested in _might_ be open to the idea as well.

A small vibration from his phone interrupted his train of thought. As he picked up his phone he saw the contact he set for Minho lighting up his home screen. With a small smile, he opened the text thread.

* * *

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Hey, you still awake?_

_Do I ever sleep?_

**_Min <3:_ ** _You SHOULD but you DON’T_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _It’s 1 AM, don’t you have work tomorrow?_

_Well you’re not sleeping either so_

_And I know for a fact you work Jisung’s morning shift_ _  
_ _tomorrow_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Yeah I know…_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I know Changbin said he’s okay but I’m still worried_ _  
_ _about him_

_Me too_

**_Min <3:_ ** _I just wish there was something we could do to help_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I know it’s none of my business but I can’t help but_ _  
_ _want to make it better for him_

_I get what you mean_

_I’m the same way_

_You did make him soup though, that’s already helpful_

**_Min <3:_ ** _But it’s just soup_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Soup isn’t the same as emotional support_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Or financial assistance_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Or whatever he needs right now to feel better_

_Maybe we can ask Changbin?_

_Or I can ask Felix? He told me he’s been there for a_ _  
_ _few days?_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Wait Changbin let Felix come over but not us?_

_Oh_

_Well now that you point that out…_

**_Min <3:_ ** _That’s kind of weird_

 _Well they are in a relationship, maybe that has something_ _  
_ _to do with it_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _If Sungie was feeling shitty enough to avoid_ _  
_ _work and us, why would Changbin and Jisung let Felix_ _  
_ _come over? It doesn’t make sense_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Unless_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _It’s us that caused whatever is going on with him_

_Hey we don’t know that Min_

_Don’t make any assumptions_

**_Min <3:_ ** _But doesn’t it make sense???_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I’ve known Sungie for years Chan._

 **_Min <3:_ ** _He goes through rough patches occasionally, I think_ _  
_ _he has some undiagnosed mental health issues going on, but_ _  
_ _each time he’s never shut me out like this. He at least tells me_ _  
_ _what's up so I know to give him time off. But this time, he_ _  
_ _completely cut me out, AND you._

 **_Min <3:_ ** _NOW try to tell me that I’m wrong._

_Minho, please calm down_

_I’m not trying to attack you or shut you down_

_I just don’t want you to jump to conclusions while_ _  
_ _you’re upset_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I’m not upset_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I’m worried_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I want Changbin to just be straight up with us and_ _  
_ _I want Jisung to talk to me again_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I miss talking to him_

_Have you been talking often?_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Yeah like everyday_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _He never used to talk to me like this, but now that_ _  
_ _we have I’ve gotten to be so much closer to him_

_I’ve been talking to him a bit recently too_

_He’s a really great person to talk to_

**_Min <3:_ ** _He’s just so sweet, and if I made him feel like shit then_ _  
_ _I’m gonna literally lock myself in a bathroom and cry_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I never want to cause his moods like this_

_Hey hey, it’s alright Min_

_Even if we caused this, which if we did I know_ _  
_ _we didn’t do it on purpose, that doesn’t mean you_ _  
_ _need to blame yourself_

_You’re still a good person_

**_Min <3:_ ** _I’m sorry I feel like I’m being dramatic_

_It’s okay, I understand where you’re coming from_

_This is a difficult situation_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Maybe we should corner Changbin_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Or bribe him_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Do you have any dark clothes you don’t want anymore?_

_What???_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Or pink, he’s a fan of pink_

_What are you talking about???_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Bribe Binnie and get him to tell us why Jisung_ _  
_ _disappeared_

_With clothes???_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Yes???_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _He loves clothes_

_Sadly, I don’t think bribery will work for us this time_

_Bin has been pretty silent about Sung and his well being_

_I doubt a bribe will sway him so easily_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Uuuuggghhhh I just want him back :(_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I miss him :(_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _And his weird facts :(_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Brb gonna cry_

_Aww Minho :(_

_Do you want to call?_

**_Min <3:_ ** _No no I can’t_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Seungmin and Hyunjin stayed over last night_ _  
_ _and I don’t wanna wake them up_

_Please tell me they’re clothed_

**_Min <3:_ ** _I told them I would skin them alive if they so much_ _  
_ _as removed a sock_

_Thank god_

_But I don’t like you crying alone :(_

**_Min <3:_ ** _I’ll just keep texting you_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I don’t think I want to be alone right now anyways_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _My mind keeps wandering_

_I feel that.._

_I’ll stay with you_

**_Min <3:_ ** _What have you been thinking about? Want to_ _  
_ _talk about it?_

_Uh_

_Maybe eventually, but idk if this is a good time_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Is everything okay…?_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Please tell me you aren’t on the verge of a_ _  
_ _mental breakdown too_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I don’t want you to cut me out next_

_No no I’m okay_

_Well, I’m kind of okay, but I’m not gonna disappear_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Kind of okay?_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _That’s worrisome Chan…_

_I just… have stuff I’m working through_

_That may or may not involve someone else_

_And I need to think carefully before I do something_ _  
_ _I might regret_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Regret…?_

_Yeah…_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Is this about what’s been going on between_ _  
_ _us for a while?_

_Um_

_No comment?_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Well, I think I can sympathize with you on that_

_Wait what?_

**_Min <3:_ ** _I have my own thing I need to figure out_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _It’s part of what’s been wandering around my_ _  
_ _head lately_

_..._

_Minho?_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Hm?_

_Have you ever heard of polyamory?_

**_Min <3:_ ** _...yes_

_Yes?_

_What do you think about it?_

**_Min <3:_ ** _I mean_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I guess I’m open to it?_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I’m definitely not opposed to it_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I’ve never… been with someone in that way before..._ _  
_ _But I’ve been friends with people who were in a poly relationship_

_So..._

_Hypothetically..._

_If you and two other men were in a three way poly relationship,_ _  
_ _would you be… okay with it?_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Yeah, I would_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Have we been thinking about the same thing this whole time?_

_Holy shit_

_Okay wait, before I get all happy and shit_

_I don’t want to do all of this over text_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Dude what the fuck_

_LISTEN_

_Tomorrow after you get off work, I’ll pick you up and take_ _  
_ _you to lunch_

_So be prepared_

_And we’re gonna have a ‘discussion’_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Oh, a ‘discussion’_

_Yes_

_A very serious discussion_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Oh_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Yes okay_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Then I’ll be home at 12_

_Perfect <3 _

* * *

_HOLY SHIT_

**_Lixie:_ ** _???_

_YOU’LL UNDERSTAND EVENTUALLY_

**_Lixie:_ ** _Oh okay!!_

 **_Lixie:_ ** _Is it a good or a bad ‘HOLY SHIT’?_

_GREAT_

_AMAZING_

_SPECTACULAR_

**_Lixie:_ ** _Yay for Channie-Hyung!_

* * *

“God, I look like a church boy don’t I?” Chan whined to himself as he examined the figure staring back at him from his bedroom mirror.

It was 11:30 AM, he was supposed to leave in less than ten minutes to pick up Minho from his apartment, and he was dressed in a simple white button up shirt and a black tie that was pushed up against his throat. He didn’t look anything like what he wanted to, and he was almost entirely convinced Minho would slam the door in his face when he saw what Chan looked like.

He wasn’t that great with fashion considering the majority of his closet was hoodies, t-shirts, and three pairs of jeans he liked. He just bought what was comfortable, but now that he was _trying_ to impress someone, he realized how shitty his clothing choice was. He was almost considering running to Seungmin and Hyunjin’s apartment and stealing something from them, but then that would open up a whole case of questions that he wasn’t sure he was ready to answer.

One of which being ‘ _Who in the hell are you dressing like a church boy for?_ ’.

But then again, unless he really wanted to show up at Minho’s doorstep dressed like he was ready to read the bible, he really needed help. 

He had been trying to avoid texting Felix all morning since his best friend was still staying with Changbin and Jisung. Even if Chan wasn’t 100% sure that he and Minho were at fault for Jisungs sudden disappearance, he felt guilt clawing up his chest every time he thought of the sad looking boy curled up in bed. Causing more of his friends distress was the last thing he wanted to do, and talking to Felix while the younger was spending time with him might be a bad idea, but he desperately needed someone to correct his fashion choice.

Before he had a chance to change his mind, Chan was picking up the phone and snapping a picture of himself in the mirror.

* * *

_Sent 20427.img_

_Help?_

**_Lixie:_ ** _Hmm suspiciously nice clothing_

 **_Lixie:_ ** _Untuck the shirt, do you have a black dress shirt instead?_

_Idk let me check_

_Yeah I do_

**_Lixie:_ ** _Wear that, loosen the tie, change into your other pair of_ _  
_ _black jeans, add a bracelet if you have one, and switch the dress_ _  
_ _shoes with normal shoes_

 **_Lixie:_ ** _Also wear your earrings!!! You don’t have piercings to_ _  
_ _leave them in your drawers forever_

_Okay fine_

_Anything else?_

**_Lixie:_ ** _Ever thought of wearing makeup?_

 **_Lixie:_ ** _You’d look so good with contour Hyung_

 _Even if I wanted to, I have zero time and_ _  
_ _own zero make up_

 **_Lixie:_ ** _Guess I know what I’m getting you for Christmas :D_

_:/_

_Also, before I go_

_How is Jisung?_

**_Lixie:_ ** _Don’t worry, he’ll be okay :)_

* * *

The response was strategic, Chan wasn’t that much of an idiot to not see the way Felix was trying to be vague while also cutting off the conversation before it got too deep. It was the same way Changbin responded to Minho when he tried the same thing. If only further confirmed the fear they were both experiencing, and Chan felt completely lost as to what to do to fix it.

And if what he planned on talking to Minho about today went as well as he hoped, he wasn’t sure what either of them were going to do about their friend.

* * *

He left his apartment by 11:40, just in time to make the 20 minute trip to Minho’s building. He felt much more confident as he skipped up the steps leading to Minho’s door, his outfit choice had significantly improved after Felix’s intervention. He thought he looked the hottest he’d ever been in the past year, until Minho pulled open the door and murdered him with his body.

“Holy shit,” Chan cursed as his eyes zeroed in on the _thighs_ pressed into nicely fitted leather pants. 

“You like them?” Minho smirked as he closed the door behind him, “I bought them a week ago.”

“I love them,” Chan had to shake his head as he forced himself to focus on Minho’s face and not the royal blue sheer blouse that looked ethereal on the younger boy, “You look amazing.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” Minho smiled as he reached up to poke Chan’s ear, “I haven’t seen these earrings in awhile.”

“Uh yeah,” Chan coughed awkwardly as he tried to ignore Minho’s hand that was nearly 2 centimeters away from his cheek, “I just thought I’d put them back in?”

“Hmm,” Minho nodded along as he pulled away, “Well I like them.”

Chan tried to disguise the breath of relief he puffed out as soon as Minho removed his hand with a chuckle, “You ready to go?”

“Yup!” Minho perked up as he let the way down the steps, “Where are we going?”

Chan hadn’t had enough time to plan much more than a casual date, so the only place he could think of that wasn’t Mcdonalds or another greasy fast food place was a soup and sandwich shop that opened up not that far away from Minho’s place. It was a bit of a shame they both had dressed up so nicely just to go to a simple sandwich shop, but Chan couldn’t complain when he got to walk next to a godly Minho.

The walk there was filled with quiet conversation, Chan asked about Minho’s morning shift which went about as chaotic as it normally did. They discussed Chan’s music and how he wanted to try to evolve his style, and when Minho complimented the music Chan posted on soundcloud the day before he couldn’t help but get a little giddy over it.

When they arrived, they chose to sit in a corner booth that was fairly quiet. They sat across from each other, Chan ordering a juice and Minho ordering an iced coffee as expected, before then deciding to order the exact same meal.

“I can’t believe you copied me!” Minho teased as he sipped at his coffee.

“And I can’t believe you’re drinking iced coffee after literally getting off of work an hour ago,” Chan cackled back, “Seriously, how much coffee can you consume before you collapse?”

“Coffee streams through my blood,” Minho clasped his hands around the cold glass and pulled it closer, “It’s my lifeline and I would sooner die than give it up.”

“That’s called an addiction,” Chan grinned as Minho twirled his straw between his teeth.

“You know, Jisung said that same thing to me,” Minho voiced around the straw, but the amusement from earlier had vanished replacing it with a bitter reminder of their friend, “I miss him.”

“I know, I do too,” Chan agreed as his fingers danced over his phone in his pocket. He’d waited patiently for a text from Jisung for days, hoping maybe the younger would feel up to communicating again soon. But he was left disappointed each time he turned on his phone screen.

“Chan?” Minho kept his eyes down as he spoke with a slight hesitance, “You said something last night, or I guess this morning that…”

He trailed off as he bit his lip, straining his fingers white against the glass in his hands until the condensation leaked through the gaps. He was still avoiding Chan’s gaze when the older reached his hand over the table and pulled Minho’s fingers off of the glass and into his palm, “Minho, I wanted to tell you this for a while now.”

“I like you,” Chan squeezed Minho's hand, “And I have since I first met you.”

“I like you too,” Minho whispered back, tilting his head up just a bit as he watched their fingers intertwine.

“I’m really happy to hear that,” Chan grinned, and honestly the fact that Minho liked him back was so surreal it almost felt like a dream. After so many months of endless flirting and midnight messages that ended far too platonic for him to stand, he at one point thought maybe nothing would come out of their relationship. Especially when Jisung entered his daily thoughts and brought his cute charm with him, “But I need to be honest with you and say you’re not the only person I like.”

“It’s Jisung, right?” Minho peaked up at Chan from behind his eyelashes, looking far more nervous than he should. Chan wanted to make him feel secure, even if he was adorable as he curled in on himself looking the exact opposite of the confident gay he projected normally.

“Yeah,” He wanted to feel happy, excited even that he was admitting to his crush on Jisung out loud for the first time, but he only felt fear and guilt. There was nothing stopping Jisung from ignoring them for the rest of his life if he chose, which may be a bit dramatic but Chan couldn’t help his mind wandering to the worst case scenario. He had no idea if Jisung felt similarly, or if he and Minho liked each other, or even if the younger would be interested in a polyamory relationship to begin with. Chan knew he was reaching too far for his arm to grab, but he had to _try_.

“I do too,” Minho said, tiny and uncertain as he tapped his fingers that weren’t encased by Chan on the table, “I felt pretty… conflicted. Liking two people at once isn’t exactly the conventional way to begin a relationship.”

“That’s why I asked you before what you felt about polyamory,” Chan took a deep breath and gauged Minho’s body language. He still seemed nervous, but there wasn’t anything pointing to him being uncomfortable, “I want to suggest something, and you have no obligation to accept or deny yet if you want to think about it.”

He waited for Minho to nod before continuing, “I like you Min, and you like me, and we _both_ like Jisung. I want to try this with you, and hopefully with Jisung if he would be open to it. I care about you both equally…” _and I don’t want to do this without either of you_.

He knew Jisung was still a mystery to them, that Minho might not want the same thing as him and that he might be putting himself out in the open just to be torn down. Relationships on their own were complicated, heartbreaking, and stressful with just two people, but adding a third person to the mix cooked up a batch of confusion and pent up emotion. He’d felt enough compressed love and passion to last him a lifetime, and now that he had an opening with Minho to actually try the most unconventional ways of romance possible, he didn’t want to risk losing it forever.

“I want to Hyung, but-” Minho shook his head with pinched eyebrows, his confliction was written in the creases in his forehead as he struggled to put his thoughts into words, “I really, _really_ like you hyung. I never realized how much I did until recently, but I also really _really_ like Jisungie, and-”

Frustrated tears began to build up in Minho’s eyelids as the cafe owner still avoided looking Chan in the eye. If they weren’t in a cafe surrounded by other customers, Chan would have pulled Minho into a hug immediately, but something told him the younger wouldn’t appreciate the extra attention that would grant them. So he settled for bringing his other hand from under the table to rub gentle circles atop Minho’s.

“I just…” Minho sniffled, “Jisungie won’t even _talk_ to us and I don’t know what I did to make him mad at me. I want what you’re trying to tell me, I want to try this with both of you, but Channie-Hyung… Jisung has been hiding for days and I don’t know if he even likes us as _friends_ let alone romantic partners.”

“Hey we don’t know that,” Chan tried to sound convincing, but even he was more than a little stressed over that situation, “Binnie said he wasn’t mad at us, we need to trust him.”

“I know, I want to trust him. It’s just my stupid brain that won’t listen to me,” Minho gave an aggressive gesture to his temple as pure contempt flashed across his face, “I repeat it to myself all day long but I can’t help but think it’s my fault.”

“That’s not your fault Min,” Chan gently scolded while Minho shook his head in disagreement, “No really, I know you can’t help how you feel and that’s okay. That doesn’t make you stupid.”

“I just want him to talk to me…” Minho sighed, slumping back in his seat.

Chan opened his mouth to say more, but just as he was about to speak the waiter returned with their food. Chan and Minho’s hands returned to their respectful spots as the sandwiches were placed in front of them. The waiter asked about the drinks, the atmosphere, and Chan could see Minho pull in on himself. He reeled back the emotionally compromised part of himself and replaced it with his typical customer service attitude as he chatted with the waiter casually.

It was worrisome how easily the younger could hide his emotions, and judging by the amount of hidden animosity Minho seemed to hold against himself Chan had a feeling it was a deeply rooted issue. One he was used to hiding and dealing with alone. As the waiter departed, Minho was back to cute, sarcastic Minho as if their previous conversation never happened. He changed the subject entirely, almost as if to say he wasn't ready to resume their discussion at that moment.

But Chan was respectful, even if he desperately wanted answers, even if he didn’t really know where he and Minho stood in this whole situation, even if everything was still a little hazy and uncertain. At least he knew Minho shared his feelings, and even seemed to be open to something a bit more. The only thing missing was Jisung, the wild card that hadn’t been seen for days.

And Chan would figure out his plan of attack for _that_ after he spent time with Minho.

* * *

After their lunch, Chan walked Minho back to his apartment. There wasn’t anymore talk of the lingering unanswered questions from their meal, nor did either of them bring up Jisung. Though Chan did get to hold Minho’s hand as they strolled down the street until they stood in front of Minho’s door. Before the younger went inside, he pulled Chan into a hug with a mumbled apology for earlier which Chan reassured him of.

When Minho closed the door behind him, it was only 2 PM and early enough in the day for Chan to head home and relax until he inevitably passed out on his couch at midnight. Or, he could head down to Minho’s cafe where Changbin and Hyunjin would be working and begin his mission of fixing things with Jisung and hopefully figuring out what to do with this… situation.

Needless to say, it wasn’t a hard decision to make as Chan found himself popping into the nearly dead cafe at only 2:15. Hyunjin and Changbin were hovering by the counter with Seungmin and Felix hanging out in the lobby just on the other side of the espresso bar.

“Good afternoon- Oh hey Channie-Hyung,” Changbin interrupted his normal greeting upon seeing Chan’s face but then sharply turned to give Hyunjin a glare, “Dude, you didn’t even try to greet him.”

“Why would I greet customers when you do it better than me anyways?” Hyunjin shrugged from his position in front of the register.

“Make sure Minho-Hyung doesn’t hear you say that,” Seungmin reached over the counter to poke his boyfriend in the side earning a playful squeak from the barista, “He’ll demote you to a lowly errand boy.”

“I’ll gladly be an errand boy,” Hyunjin countered with a triumphant grin, “I’ll get away from making decaf skinny lattes for soccer moms.”

“Knowing Minho-Hyung, you’ll get demoted to drain cleaner before you get to be an errand boy,” Changbin commented as Hyunjin’s face morphed into one of terror.

“Oh hell no,” Hyunjin gasped with a horrified glance at the drains before quickly turning to Chan with too serious of a face for the usually strangely hyper boy, “Good Afternoon Sir, can I offer you one of our holiday beverages today?”

“You called Channie-Hyung a _sir_ ,” Felix snickered to himself, “Hyung you’re a _sir_.”

“Hey, _I_ am the only Sir here,” Hyunjin shot back, “Tell ‘em Minnie.”

“Um…” Seungmin, bright red and clearly fairly annoyed with Hyunjin putting him on the spot, stumbled over his words which only spurred on either loud cackles or groans.

“Somehow, I always regret speaking to you people at any given moment,” Chan huffed, but the amusement seeped into his tone too easily, “Hey Bin, when do you get off?”

“In about...” Changbin pulled out his cellphone, “10 minutes. Why?”

“I need to talk to you about stuff,” Chan left it vague on purpose, he wasn’t sure how informed Hyunjin and Seungmin were on the situation and he’d rather keep his internal struggles as contained as possible until he knew what he was doing. The last thing he needed was the two sexual deviants breathing down his neck when he was _this_ close to a break down.

“Ooo _stuff_ you say,” Hyunjin hummed with an eyebrow wiggle, “Careful Lixie, Channie-Hyung might be after your mans.”

“What?!” Felix’s head whipped around to face Chan, eyes wide for a moment before the smaller boy jumped into a fighting stance, “Oh hell no. Sorry Hyung someone’s gotta go and it’s _not_ gonna be me.”

“Lix, as much as I love you,” Changbin grabbed Felix’s clenched fist and lowered it back down to his side, “Channie Hyung would decimate you. No amount of Tae Kwon Do would protect you from him.”

Felix grumbled something to himself but then deflated from his position with a whine, “ _Fine_ , but you better watch yourself Hyung.”

“Yeah, sure,” Chan chuckled, “Anyways, can I get a coffee now?”

* * *

“One Large Iced Vanilla Latte for Mr. Bang Chan,” Changbin announced upon placing two coffee cups down on the table as he slid into the booth across Chan, “And one Hot Mocha for me.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink something hot in the entire year I’ve known you,” Chan commented as Changbin took a large sip of his drink.

“I like to take risks,” Changbin placed his cup back down on the table as he clasped his hand around the paper cup, “So, you wanted to talk to me?”

“I’m sure you already know why?”

“Hm… does it have to do with why you look like you just got back from a date?” Changbin made a point to gesture to Chan’s rather extravagant outfit, “Dude I haven’t seen you wear earrings since I met you.”

“Maybe it does,” Chan spun his cup in a circle to mix up the ice, “I just got done talking to Minho.”

“Oh? Did you get anything out of that talk?” Chan could hear the underlying meaning in his younger friends words, and he couldn’t tell if it relieved him or annoyed him that Changbin seemed to know more about Chan’s situation than he let on. One one hand, it was less he had to explain, but on the other he felt a bit like his thoughts and feelings were exposed.

“I did,” Chan wasn’t lying, because he _did_ get some worthwhile information from his date with Minho. Like that the cafe owner reciprocated his feelings. But he also got another chunk of issues along with it and he had no idea where to start, “But now I need to talk to you about what you said the other day.”

“Do you now? Are you here to say I’m right?” Changbin gave a cocky grin, “Mr. Bang Chan _does_ fancy two people?”

“Alright no need to be an ass about it,” Chan muttered in annoyance, “And it isn’t only me, you know.”

“Oh shit, really?”Changbin sat up in his seat with a peculiar glint in his eyes, “Does Minho-Hyung happen to like two people too?”

“That’s classified information.”

“So that’s code for ‘yes’ right?”

“Listen,” Chan sighed as he laid his hands flat on the table, “I know you said Jisung is fine, and that he just needs some time. But I need to know if we did something to offend him Binnie. Minho is literally in tears because he thinks he upset him.”

“Wait seriously?” Changbin dropped the casual teasing he had adopted ever since he sat down, “But you guys really didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You say that, and we want to believe it,” Chan _really_ wished he could believe it, “But when Jisung won’t answer our messages? We aren't allowed to see him but Felix is? It just feels like we did something wrong and-”

Chan cut himself off as realized he was about to say a bit more than he meant to, but at this point what was there to lose by telling Changbin how they felt? The barista already knew Chan had not one, but two crushes on their friends and it wasn’t hard to deduce that Minho felt the same regardless of how much Chan tried to hide it.

“You care about him,” Chan didn’t have to say anymore, because Changbin finished for him with a sympathetic smile, “You care about both of them.”

“Yes, I really do,” He cared about Minho when he cried, he cared about Jisung when he laughed. He cared about what time they went to bed, about how much they ate, about how often they felt lonely and how often they needed human interaction. He had realized recently that he really, _really_ liked both Minho and Jisung in an entirely unplatonic way, and now his heart was doing jumping jacks every time he thought about them.

Somehow, the responsibility to figure things out was placed on his shoulders, but he honestly didn’t care because he just wanted things to be okay again.

“God, you’re all such panicked gays,” Changbin commented and then continued before Chan could question him on it, “Alright, how about this. I will get Jisung to talk to you guys, tonight if possible, and you guys _need_ to talk about all of this.”

“I don’t think I could hold it in even if I tried.”

* * *

 **_Bin_ ** _has renamed the chat_ **_Talk It Out :D_ **

**_Bin_ ** _has left the chat_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Did he seriously just do that???_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Smiley and everything???_

_At least he didn’t stay_

_That would have been worse_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Why are we doing this over text?_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I feel like this is better done in person_

 _We can always start it here and finish in_ _  
_ _person like we did_

_Hey Sungie? You there?_

**_Jisungie <3:_ ** _...yeah…_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Sungie I missed you so much omg_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _How have you been?_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Have you been eating?_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _How much water did you drink?_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _I’m okya Hyubng_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Okay*_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Hyung*_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Um_

_It’s okay Sung, you’re good :)_

**_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Sorry I’m just nervous_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Hey we’re not gonna eat you or anything_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _We’re still the same Minho and Chan-Hyung_ _  
_ _from last week_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _I know…_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _But I also just disappeared for days…_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _I’m kind of expecting you to be mad?_

_Why would we be mad?_

_If anything we were worried we did something_ _  
_ _to upset you_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Yeah I was convinced I actually_ **_was_ ** _Satan for a bit_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _No you guys didn’t do anything!_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _I promise you did nothing wrong!_

_Are you sure?_

**_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Yes_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _100%_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _I just… I was being stupid I guess_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _How stupid we talking?_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Uh, ignoring my phone, job, and friends for_ _  
_ _days stupid?_

 _That sounds more like bad self care_ _  
_ _rather than stupidity_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Why do you keep justifying this???_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _What I did was shitty and kind of unprofessional_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _It’s unprofessional if you work as an accountant for_ _  
_ _a business firm with a deadline at the end of the week and_ _  
_ _you dipped out on your presentation._

 **_Min <3:_ ** _You just skipped your job as a barista, got all of your_ _  
_ _shifts covered, and disappeared for a few days._

 **_Min <3:_ ** _It’s not like you did some terrible thing that needs to_ _  
_ _be punished Sungie._

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Why are you using periods???_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Are you mad???_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _No! Of course not!_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Sorry I just wanted to be sincere :( it came out_ _  
_ _wrong in text_

_I swear we aren't mad Jisung_

_We’re just happy to be talking to you again_

_We really missed talking to you_

**_Min <3:_ ** _I missed your weird facts :(_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _…_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Did you know squirrels are behind most_ _  
_ _power outages?_

_Damn it Sungie stay off those power lines_

**_Jisungie <3:_ ** _What_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _HEY_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _I’M NOT A SQUIRREL_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Hmmm idk_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _You look pretty squirrely to me_

 _Yeah and Changbin has you in his phone_ _  
_ _as_ **_Jisung (Squirrel)_ **

_You’re very squirrel_

**_Jisungie <3:_ ** _I hate this_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _I’m leaving_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _NO NO_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _DON’T LEAVE PLEASE_

 _If you leave I still seriously break into_ _  
_ _your bedroom_

_Please Sungie we really need to talk to you_

**_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Woah I was just joking_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Sorry :(_

_No please don’t be sorry_

_We just really missed you and we’re a bit_ _  
_ _on edge right now_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Okay, I’m here. I’m staying_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Maybe we should just get to the point_

_Right_

_Well, uh, Jisung_

_I wanted to ask you a question that might seem_ _  
_ _a bit strange and a little… random_

_But try to hear us out first?_

**_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Okay???_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _What is it_

_Have you ever heard of Polyamory?_

**_Jisungie <3:_ ** _…_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Are you fucking with me right now?_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Because if you are this is so not cool, like at all_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Like 500 times not cool, really fucked up not cool_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Why would we be fucking with you?_

_I swear on my life, I am not fucking with you_

**_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Then why did you ask… that?_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Why bring it up?_

_Because_

_Uh_

_Maybe we shouldn’t have done this over text…_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Jisung, I’m gonna straight up honest with_ _  
_ _you right now_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _No jokes, okay?_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Okay?_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I like you_

_I do too_

**_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Yeah_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Okay_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _I like you guys too_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _You’re great friends_

_No, not as just friends_

**_Min <3:_ ** _I really like you Sungie, as in more than a_ _  
_ _friend kind of life_

_And I also really like you_

_As more than a friend_

_But we also like each other the same way?_

**_Min <3:_ ** _And we didn’t know how to bring this up to you_ _  
_ _because you’ve been gone and we thought you were upset_ _  
_ _with us…_

 _But I mean if this weirds you out then we don’t have_ _  
_ _to do anything about this_

 _If you don’t feel the same we don’t have to_ _  
_ _act on our feelings_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Are you guys being serious…?_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I swear on my cats lives Jisung_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I am not lying to you, and neither is Chan-Hyung_

_See?_

_He swore on his cats_

**_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Holy shit_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _You’re telling the truth_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _I am_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Does this… make you uncomfortable?_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _No!_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _No not at all_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _But_

_But?_

**_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Could you guys maybe come over?_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _Today?_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _Um, yes?_

 **_Jisungie <3:_ ** _If that’s okay?_

_Of course_

_Min, you want me to pick you up?_

**_Min <3:_ ** _Yeah that’d be good_

 **_Min <3:_ ** _We’ll see you soon Sungie <3 _

* * *

“Are you ready?” Chan looked over at Minho, who’s hand was clasped in his own. They were standing just in front of Jisung and Changbin’s apartment, where Jisung had been hiding out for days, in the middle of the cold weather with barely suitable clothing. It was a split second decision with hardly any forethought on their part, but maybe some gloves would have been ideal.

However, holding hands did the job just as easily.

“Yeah,” Minho breathed out with a shaky nod, “Let’s do this.”

Chan gave a squeeze to Minho’s hand, then raised his other to knock on the black painted entrance. It opened only seconds later with Changbin swinging the door into the house and leaning onto the frame with a cocky grin.

“Oh look who arrived~” Changbin sang with wiggling eyebrows, “Did you finally sort out your shit with Sungie?”

“I regret not torturing you with Felix while I had the chance,” Minho muttered coldly as he narrowed his eyes at the shorter boy, “In fact, I may have to resort to sabotaging your morning coffee tomorrow.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Changbin tried to sound convincing, but the tremble in his tone gave him away when Minho gave him an evil smirk.

“Do you want to test me?” Minho purred while Chan struggled to hold back his amusement, “Because I assure you, I am _not_ afraid to fuck with you for my own entertainment Seo Changbin.”

“Fucking hell,” Changbin hissed in annoyace before he flung himself off of the door and made room for the duo to enter, “Just get in here already. Sungie’s in his room.”

“Glady!” Minho chirped. He quickly skipped into the warm entrance, pulling Chan along with him until they stood in the middle of the living with a cozy looking Felix sitting on the couch.

“Oh you guys are here!” Felix exclaimed as scrambled out of the various blankets he was buried under, “Jisung! Your boyfriends are here!”

“ _Felix!_ ” Chan hissed under his breath with a panicked expression.

“Oh calm down Channie,” Felix said as he strolled over to one of the closed doors along the wall, “Trust me, you have nothing to worry about.”

Before Chan had a chance to reply to his friend, Felix was banging on the bedroom door with his closed fist, “Jisung! I’m opening this door in five seconds!”

“ _Don’t you dare!”_ A muffled voice from inside belonging to Jisung shouted back, “ _Quit bossing me around! You don’t even live here!”_

“Well someone has to make you confront your problems!” Felix moved to grab the door handle only to find himself helplessly jiggling the handle in place. The blonde threw his head back with a groan and shook the handle with more vigor than before, “Sungie I swear to god.”

 _“Begone Satan! I have things to prepare!”_ Jisung gave a purposeful kick from the other side of the door which startled Felix enough to jump back from the entrance.

“Do they fight like this often?” Chan turned to ask Changbin who had resorted to watching Felix attempt to force Jisung out of his room with a calm demeanor. Changbin didn’t look worried in the slightest, if anything he looked a little entertained.

“Only since last night when Ji kicked Lix out of his room because he wouldn’t stop cuddling him,” Changbin gestured over to the pile of blankets on the couch which they had found Felix in when they arrived, “Felix has been pouting out in the living room ever since and using me to appease his cuddle craving.”

“Who are you calling Satan?! Minho-Hyung’s right here!” Felix turned to Minho with pinched eyebrows as he sharply pointed at the closed door, “Are you gonna let him insult your throne right in front of you?!”

 _“What?!”_ Jisung shouted again, followed by a few loud bangs.

“Why are they calling you Satan?” Chan turned to face Minho, expecting to see a matching face of confusion only to see Minho holding back a giggle.

“Are you assuming I’m not Satan?” Minho winked back at him as he squeezed his hand in Chan’s palm, “You gotta keep up Channie.”

“Wha-” Chan gawked just as Jisung threw open his bedroom door, looking like he hadn’t seen the sun in days. His hair was wet and hastily combed into place, dripping cold water onto his twisted clothes that looked like they had been thrown on just seconds ago. His skin was pale, his eyes riddled with dark circles and eye bags, but he still looked adorable. It had only been a few days since Chan had seen Jisung, one half of his recent mental turmoil, yet it felt like an eternity. Chan had missed him, so so much.

“How did you guys get here so fast?!” Jisung hissed, though it was far too endearing to be hostile, “It’s been twenty minutes!”

“We walked,” Minho shrugged as he walked closer to the boy and dragged Chan along with him. The cafe owner strutted right through the door, grabbing hold of Jisung and swiftly pulling him back into the bedroom. Minho deposited both boys on the unmade bed, headed back for the opened door, and doused Changbin and Felix with a deadly sweet smile, “Leave us be for about an hour. I suggest leaving the premises but please, do as you wish.”

Chan watched in awe as Minho shut the door on their friends' dumbfounded expressions, clicked the lock with a satisfied grunt, and released a decently heavy sigh, “Sungie,” Minho turned his body, letting his eyes scan around the room until they landed on the boy seated beside Chan with a hint of concern.

Now that the dramatics were over, and Jisung and Minho were both just a few feet away from him, the feelings resurfaced tenfold. Chan hadn’t quite felt so much affection, so much desire and want in such capacity. It almost hurt how badly he had wanted this, to be able to talk to Jisung and Minho about his feelings, to confess to them in a way that was almost laughable.

Jisung was awkwardly rigid on his bed, eyes zeroed in on his carpet as he bit the corner of his lip. He was young, younger than Chan and Minho, and had so much to experience. He was funny, loving, expressive, understanding, and trustworthy. He was a friend Chan had been grateful for ever since they met, and a friend Chan knew he couldn’t lose.

Whether things worked out between them three or not, Chan wasn’t going to abandon their friendship for anything.

“Are you doing okay?” Chan asked gently, earning a shy nod from Jisung.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Jisung brought his head up as Minho sat beside him. Jisung hesitantly reach a hand out for Minho to take, which was snatched up immediately. Then he did the same to Chan, who smiled with the younger's hand in his own. He brought Jisung’s knuckles up to his lips, placing a soft kiss on his skin.

“O-oh,” Jisung fumbled with his eyes darting from his hand back up to Chan’s face.

“You’re so cute,” Minho snickered, then decided to copy Chan’s idea which only worsened Jisung’s struggle, “Aw we made him flustered.”

“Maybe we should slow down,” Chan eased back but left his hand in Jisungs. Minho followed his lead, pulling his legs up on the bed to cross them in front of him and twisting himself to face both Jisung and Chan. Jisung remained still, his legs dangling off the mattress with his bedding bunched up underneath him.

It was obvious Jisung hadn’t done much but hide out in his room recently. It smelt like air freshener, probably to mask the scent of sweat from the endless days of curling up in bed, and there were clothes piled up in his laundry basket after days of use. However the biggest concern was the obvious signs of distress that littered Jisung’s form. He _looked_ sick, and Chan was sure if no one was here to force Jisung into taking care of himself he might have forgotten to take care of his basic needs. His body language was riddled with anxiety, rigid and twitchy as Jisung tried to make himself seem calm and collected. 

He was anything but, and that nearly crushed Chan.

“Hey,” Chan rubbed his thumb over Jisung’s hand, causing the boy to look up at his guest, “Can I hug you?”

Jisung nodded immediately and began pulling Chan closer to him before Chan could process the response. The older quickly wrapped his arms around Jisung, letting the boy position himself comfortably around his body as Chan made eye contact with Minho over his shoulder. Chan tilted his head, signaling Minho to join them, but he seemed hesitant.

Chan knew Minho was desperate to hold Jisung, afterall the only thing Minho had been repeating was how much he missed the younger boy’s presence in his life. There was no way Minho didn’t want to cuddle his body against Jisung, squish his cheeks against the boy's shoulder, and breath in his soothing scented shampoo like Chan was. As much as Jisung had been suffering alone, so had Chan and Minho. Not knowing why Jisung disappeared, not knowing if he reciprocated their feelings, not knowing if he was safe or healthy… it took a toll on them. Especially Minho if the crocodile tears and nervous twitching Chan had noticed were anything to go by.

So why was he holding back?

“Min?” Chan called softly, causing a small jump from Jisung who caught on to the worried tone, “What’s wrong?”

“Hyung?” Jisung pulled away from Chan. turning to face Minho who looked torn between distressed and relief. Jisung’s eyes widened in alarm as he instantly scrambled out of Chan’s lap and crawled in front of Minho, “Are you okay?”

Minho tilted his head down, biting his lip as the wetness began to pool in his eyes. He was pointedly avoiding their gaze, but he couldn’t hide the emotions even if he tried. Chan moved closer to the two, joining Jisung by his side and gently grabbing hold of Minho’s hand. He gave a stuttering breath which had Chan grasping at his fingers a bit harder for a moment.

“Minho?” Chan nudged, “What’s going on?”

Minho sniffled with a shrug, still keeping his head down, “I don’t know.”

“Are these happy tears or sad tears?” Chan lowered himself to see Minho’s face easier, but he only received another shrug.

“Hyung, I’m sorry,” Chan turned just in time to catch the first tear falling down Jisung’s cheek, “This is my fault, isn’t it?

“No!” Minho shot up, his eyes wild as his free hand frantically grabbed Jisung’s, “No no, not your fault. I just…” He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and letting his words whisper past his lips, “I feel like I did something wrong. Like I don’t deserve to be here with you right now.”

“Why would you think that?” Jisung mumbled.

“Because you left,” Chan answered for Minho, because judging by the resumed lip biting Minho was seconds away from breaking into full blown sobs, “He- I mean _we_ \- thought we hurt you. That we did something wrong… We only recently found out we both held similar feelings for each other and you but… You stopped talking to us, stopping showing up for work, and we were happy to give you the space you needed. But it seemed like _we_ were the problem which led to a lot of self reflection and doubt.”

“But you didn’t do anything wrong!” Jisung insisted, first towards Chan, then turned to Minho and pulled on the others arms with shaky limbs, “I swear Hyung, you didn’t. Neither of you. It was all me, okay? It’s my fault!”

“No,” Minho shook his head, his voice coming out raw and wobbly due to the tears he was struggling to hold back , “Don’t blame yourself for your emotions Sungie.”

“But it’s so stupid!” Jisung’s voice raised into a shout, “If I had just talked to you two about my feelings, none of us would be in this situation! This is only happening because I’m an idiot!”

“Hey,” Chan took his other hand and pulled Jisung to his chest. The younger’s head landed in the crook of his arm and Chan’s chin hooked over his head with soothing shushes falling from his lips, “Calm down, you’re okay. You’re not stupid, and no one is mad at you. Take a few breaths for me.”

Jisung was tense in his hold for a moment, but after a few seconds his body relaxed against Chan’s. The elder sparred a glance towards Minho who had managed to calm himself down a bit. His eyes were red rimmed and puffy, an obvious sign he had been crying, and his lips was red from the biting. But he seemed a bit more put together and less like he was right at the edge and ready to tip off into a fit of tears. His eyes met Chan’s with the elder mouthing out _“You okay?”_. Minho nodded, offering a small smile.

“Ji?” Chan asked as he looked down at the brown hair against his chest. Jisung titled his head back to look up at chan, his eyes mirroring Minho’s, “Are you feeling a bit more calm?”

“Yeah,” Jisung croaked as he pulled himself from Chan’s hold, but he kept his hands intertwined with both of them, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Chan assured, “Both of us have been a bit emotional lately too.”

“I wasn’t mad at you two though,” Jisung repeated, much calmer than earlier, but just as sincere, “I was scared, not mad.”

“Why were you scared?” Chan hummed.

“I was scared of my emotions… because I liked you guys,” Jisung took a deep breath, giving both boys a moment to grasp what was just said, “At first it was just Minho-Hyung. But then it was Chan-Hyung too. And I got so confused, and scared because I couldn’t like _both_ of you. That’s just…. Selfish.”

“It’s not selfish,” Minho urged, “You’re not selfish.”

“Yeah, we both return your feelings,” Chan reminded him, “Remember what we said on the group chat?”

“Yeah, I still can’t believe that,” Jisung chuckled to himself, which instantly brightened the mood among the boys, “Are you both still sure about that?”

“Of course,” Minho said at the same time Chan said, “100%.”

“Then…” Jisung mumbled to himself, staring down at his hand. Taking in both hands that belong to Chan and Minho tangled in his fingers. Chan watched him smile, tightening the hold he had on the two older boys, before he looked back up at the two guests.

“Channie-Hyung, Minho-Hyung, will you go on a date with me?”

* * *

“Hwang Hyunjin!” Jisung shouted, dressed up in his work apron with Changbin trailing behind him as he slammed open the doors of the empty cafe.

Hyunjin, who was busy creating a strange concoction at the espresso bar that he planned on showing Minho in hopes of it becoming a holiday drink some day, jumped in surprise. The cup he was holding splattered the dark mocha syrup into his blonde hair which left the boy yelping, “What the fuck Jisung!”

“If you wanted dark hair you could always try hair dye,” Changbin snickered as he went around the counter to prepare his own coffee, pushing Hyunjin away from the espresso machine and closer to Jisung who had stomped up to the cash register with a determined face and a pointed finger shoved into Hyunjin’s chest.

“You owe me one normal conversation!” Jisung proclaimed, “No talking about sex!”

Changbin broke into full fits of laughter as he squirted vanilla syrups into his cup. Though Hyunjin squawked at his co-worker who had yet to remove his finger from his face, “What?! I don’t owe you shit!”

“Oh _yes_ you do,” Changbin scoffed with way more amusement than Hyunjin had found necessary, “Don’t tell me you break your promises Jinnie?”

“Gimme that normal conversation!” Jisung slammed his hands down on the counter, pushing his face over the barrier with a serious expression, “Tell me about Kkami!”

“Why are you all yelling?!” Minho stomped out of the backroom, giving a pointed glare to each of the three boys, but softening his look once he landed on Jisung, “We’re a distinguished establishment! I can’t have my employee’s yelling every fucking second!”

“Jisung’s being weird!” Hyunjin said as Jisung flung himself back with a dramatic gasp, “He’s telling me I _owe_ him a normal conversation when I don’t!”

“Sungie,” Jisung turned his gaze to Minho, offering him a toothy smile, “Why does Hyunjin owe you a normal conversation?”

“Because I asked you out!” Jisung declared loudly, followed by a shriek from Hyunjin and a cackle from Changbin, “ _And_ I asked out Channie-Hyung so I deserve _two_ normal conversations!”

“What the _fuck_ !” Hyunjin whipped his head back and forth from Minho and Jisung, utter confusion littering his features, “You did _what_ now?!”

“Well, a deal’s a deal Jinnie,” Minho sighed with a smirk sneaking onto his face, “Better give my boyfriend a normal conversation.”

“Your _boyfriend?!”_ Hyunjin gaped, “Are you serious?!”

“Oh they’re very serious,” Chan emerged from the back room, having heard the entire conversation from behind the door, “My boyfriends don’t lie, Hyunjin.”

“ _Boyfriends?!”_

“Oh this is gold,” Changbin gasped for air, his face red from laughter, “I can’t wait to hear that normal conversation.”

* * *

**_The Dis(Fun)ctional Family_ **

**_Hyunjinnie:_ ** _BOYFRIENDS_

 **_Hyunjinnie:_ ** _THEY’RE BOYFRIENDS?!?!?!?_

 **_:Seungminnie:_ ** _Uh… what?_

 **_Hyunjinnie:_ ** _PLURAL_

 **_Hyunjinnie:_ ** _BOYFRIENDS_

 ** _Lixie:_** _Oh do you mean Channie-Hyung, Minho-Hyung, and Jisungie?_

 **_Bin:_ ** _Yes that is what he meant_

 **_Hyunjinnie:_ ** _YOU KNEW?!?!?!_

 **_Innie:_ ** _WHAT_

 **_Min <3: _ ** _QUIT SPAMMING ME_

 **_Hyunjinnie:_ ** _YOU’RE DATING JISUNG AND CHANNIE-HYUNG_

 **_Bin:_ ** _Dude, it’s not that surprising. You knew Sungie liked them both_

 **_Hyunjinnie:_ ** _I DIDN’T THINK HE’D ACTUALLY GET_ _  
_ _THE GUTS TO ASK THEM BOTH OUT_

 **_Min <3: _ ** _Your lack of faith in my boyfriend offends me_

_Quit offending my boyfriend_

_It offends me_

**_Jisungie <3: _ ** _Quit offending my boyfriends_

 **_Jisungie <3: _ ** _It offends me_

 **_Seungminie:_ ** _This is a rather interesting turn of events_

 **_Seungminie:_ ** _But not surprising_

 **_Hyunjinnie:_ ** _MY OWN BOYFRIEND_

 **_Seungminie:_ ** _Are you oblivious????_

 **_Seungminie:_ ** _It’s been obvious they like each other_

 **_Lixie:_ ** _It really has_

_We weren’t that obvious_

**_Bin:_ ** _I BEG TO DIFFER_

 **_Bin:_ ** _I WILL FIGHT YOU ON THAT STATEMENT_

 **_Min <3: _ ** _YOU WILL NOT_

 **_Innie:_ ** _THIS FAMILY IS FALLING APART_

 **_Jisungie <3: _ ** _HYUNJIN_

 **_Hyunjinnie:_ ** _WHAT SATAN_

 **_Min <3: _ ** _FUCK YOU THAT’S MY TITLE_

 **_Hyunjinnie:_ ** _THEN HE’S SATAN LITTLE HELPER_

 **_Min <3: _ ** _I don’t mind that_

 **_Jisungie <3: _ ** _WHERE’S MY NORMAL CONVERSATION_

 **_Seungminie:_ ** _LOL good luck_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY I FINISHED THIS! Wow... I got so stumped towards the end. But I finally did it! I hope you all like it!
> 
> My Socials:  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Reltic_)  
> [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/_reltic_/)


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